Just Us
by sbenton1
Summary: Some Fanfic for this new show. Julian and Joanna are now living together but she hasn't told him everything yet and is still working undercover. Julian plans a weekend getaway for them to be alone and talk so he can be honest with her about something and he's hoping she opens up to him as well. These characters were created by Liz Heldens and owned by NBC. I'll add chapters weekly.
1. Chapter 1

Julian sipped on his drink as he made his way through the crowd. He peered through the sea of people looking for his date in her sexy plum colored dress and silver heels. He seems to have lost her while he was on the other side of the room speaking privately to his father. Suddenly he feels a pair of arms around his waist and familiar voice in ear.

"Looking for me Mr. Bowers?"

The smell of Joanna's perfume and the playfulness of her voice intoxicates him every time.

Julian turned slightly to his right and wrapped his arm around Joanna.

"As a matter of fact I was. Where did you run off to?"

"Mia and I went to the ladies room. I'm a little tired though and it's almost 2am, do you feel like calling it night?"

"Yeah, I think we've served our purpose here tonight. If you're ready then so I am. Let's go."

Hand in hand they maneuvered through the crowd and Julian stopped to bid his father and Sophia goodnight. Joanna stood behind him as if to go unnoticed by Robert. He's still not happy that she and Julian are together since he no longer trusts her but Julian made it clear to him how he feels about her and that won't change. Robert looked at Joanna as a gesture of saying goodnight without actually saying it.

Walking a little further, they bump into Mia and some of her friends.

"Are you guys leaving already?"

"Yes we are birthday girl. We're not as young as you are you know so we get tired earlier."

Julian let go of Joanna to give Mia a hug and Joanna did the same.

"Happy birthday and goodnight. We love you. Call you tomorrow okay?"

"Okay, I love you guys."

They stopped to retrieve their coats from the concierge and Julian helped Joanna put on hers. He put on his as well and took Joanna's hand as they proceeded to exit the ballroom. Once outside, Julian gave the valet the ticket for his car and he and Joanna stood on the curb as the man went to retrieve it. He dropped Joanna's hand and wrapped his arm around her waist instead to pull her closer and she wrapped her arms around him also.

He lovingly looked down at her and kissed her on her forehead.

"Yeah you do look a little sleepy so I better get you home soon."

She looked up at him and he bent down to kiss her on the lips. Joanna felt safe and at home in Julian's arms. Every time she looks at him she can't believe how lucky they are to have found each other again.

They break their kiss as the valet arrives with the car. Julian walks over and opens the door for Joanna and closes it after she gets in. He walks over to the driver side and hands the valet a $20 tip and drives off.

As they start the forty minute drive to Julian's place, Joanna dozes off a little. Julian turns and looks at her sleeping. He shakes his head and smiles and turns the radio down a little lower so she can enjoy her short nap. He was also thinking about taking her away for the weekend so they could have some alone time away from the city and family. They've been putting off having a serious discussion about their relationship, his family and if she will continue to work at Bowers Pharmaceutical. Joanna has always been the one woman in his life that he has loved no matter what even while they were apart for seventeen years. He always held on to the hope that they would be together someday and he's determined not to lose her again and he feels the only way to do this is with complete honesty on both their parts. He decided to spring it on her in the morning and if she agreed, they would leave as soon as possible.

They finally reach the parking garage of Julian's condo and he gently nudges her as he places the car in park.

"Hey, sleepyhead, we're home."

Joanna awakens and shakes her head a little and repositions herself in the seat. She lets out a slight yawn and picks up her purse. Julian opens the door for her to exit and she stretches a little when she steps out of the car.

He pulls her close as if to hold her up and they walk toward the elevator.

"Wow I can't believe I slept all the way here."

"You sure did and I had no one to talk to but myself."

Julian smiled at her as they waited for the elevator.

"Oh I'm sorry babe. You should've kept nudging me or something."

"No I actually like watching you when you sleep because you're so beautiful."

This made Joanna blush a little and she rested her head on his chest. His heartbeat was music to her ears and the smell of his cologne heightened her senses. She was fully awake now.

They stepped into the elevator and Julian held on to Joanna's hand. When they arrived at his floor, he pulled her behind him as they walked to the door. Once inside they removed their coats and Julian walked over to the kitchen for a glass of water. Joanna went directly to the bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed and began taking off her shoes. Julian walked in a few seconds later and placed his glass on the nightstand next to the bed. As he was walks past Joanna on his way to the closet, she grabbed his hand and stood up. He turned around and looked at her because he thought something was wrong but instead, she tilted her head and reached up for his neck to pull him closer. He was very familiar with the look she had in her eyes and he paused before he kissed her.

"I thought you were tired?" he said softly as their faces came closer.

"Not anymore. The sleep on the way here must have reenergized me. Are you tired?"

Julian didn't bother answering he just went in for the kiss instead. Joanna removed his jacket and he in turn unzipped her dress which she let fall to the floor. They both unbuttoned and removed his shirt and Joanna gently kissed and caressed his chest. While still kissing him, she unbuckled and unzipped his pants and he stepped out of them but never broke their kiss.

Following her lead as she took steps forward, Julian walked backwards until he felt the bed behind him and fell backwards on it with Joanna in his arms. They looked at each other and laughed as though they were surprised that they didn't land on the floor instead. Continuing to smile, Joanna brought her lips closer to Julian's and he cupped her face in hands. Their kissing intensified and Julian's hands caressed every inch of her body and without warning, he turned over so that he was now on top. His kisses began as a downward path on her neck. He removed her bra when he reached her chest and he continued on southward and paused at her thighs. He deliberately kissed and caressed each one stopping short in the middle just to keep her guessing as to what would come next. He slowly rose up to her navel and kissed her stomach. His hands reached down to remove her panties and he went down with them. Joanna was now lost in complete ecstasy as Julian took in every inch of her. Their intense love for one another fueled the passion of their lovemaking to the point of losing all sense of space and time. They fell asleep in warmly tucked in each others arms barely breaking their embrace throughout the night.

Just shy of the sixth hour of their slumber, they were awakened by the sound of Joanna's phone ringing. She reached out to the nightstand trying to feel her way to it and Julian raised his head up slightly and rubbed his eyes.

"Just let it go to voicemail." he whispered as he laid his head back on his pillow.

By the time Joanna cuffed the phone in hand, it stopped ringing. She touched the missed call notification and saw that it was Will. She reached back and returned the phone to the nightstand and promised herself to call him back as soon as she got out of bed.

Two hours later, Joanna awoke and slowly sat up in the bed. She had no idea what time was and she turned at looked at Julian who was still asleep. She reached for phone and also remembered that she had to return Will's call, She was shocked to see that it was 11:40am and even though didn't have to go in to work at Bowers today, she normally checks in with Will by 9:30 every morning and she immediately suspected that being his reason for calling earlier. She got out of the bed and reached down for Julian's shirt which she put on as she made her way to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth, washed her face and fixed her hair a little but she decided to call Will before jumping in the shower. She went out to the terrace so she wouldn't be overheard calling Will back. She prepared herself for his potential sarcasm that she knew he would be spewing at her.

She looks around once more and then proceeds to call his number.

"Well Ms. LoCasto, thanks for calling me back so quickly."

Joanna took a slight pause before responding.

"Good morning Will. I'm sorry that I didn't get back to you sooner but I got in real late last night from Mia's party. I was so tired that I forgot to set the alarm on my phone and I apologize for that. I didn't gather anything new from the party last night. Robert and Sophia mostly stayed at their table all night and there were no unusual guests. Do you have anything new for me?"

"No not right now but I do need you to search for a document on of Roberts computer. Apparently, he sent an email to Ben Preswick a few days before he died and we need to see what that was about. Are you going in to the office today?"

"No we were all scheduled off due to the party. I can try going in saying I need something out of my desk."

"Okay if you think that's possible today but if not, I can hold off until Monday but you're going to have to get it to me as soon as possible"

"I'll try for the today. How are you by the way?"

"Why do you care about my well being? We decided that this arrangement would be kept professional as of the last few weeks so please don't ask me personal stuff … okay?"

Joanna was kind of surprised at his answer but she did prepare herself for this type of reaction.

"I'm sorry, forget that I asked. Like I said if I can get the info today, I'll send it right over,"

"Okay just let me know when you have it."

"I will."

They both hung up simultaneously which they have perfected over the last month due to the awkwardness of their personal and professional relationship. Will has not forgiven her for sleeping with Julian and he's not happy that he has been forced to continue working with her to solve the case. This saddens Joanna and she has tried to explain to him why she chose Julian but he refuses to listen to her.

She walks back in to the living room and she sees Julian coming from the bedroom looking disheveled. She smiles and walks toward him. They meet in the middle and he kisses her.

"That looks like my shirt."

"It is. I was cold on my way to the bathroom and it was the closest to me so I put it on. Looks great right?"

Julian shakes his head and looks at her but he was also curious about her phone call.

"Who did you have to go outside to call?"

"My ex. He calls to give me an update on our property that has yet to be sold. We sometimes end up arguing during our conversations and I didn't want to wake you so I stepped outside to call him. No big deal."

"When will that be resolved? Soon I hope."

"I hope so to. I plan on calling the real estate agent later to discuss it further. So do you want some breakfast?"

"Yes but I'll cook it. You've made the last couple of meals so I'll get this one."

He bends to give Joanna a kiss on the cheek and she smiles.

"Okay well I guess I'll take a shower. I may have to go by the office today to make sure I set up all of your dad's appointments for Monday."

"Okay but I was going to ask you if you feel like getting away this weekend – just us. We need some real alone time you know away from everyone. I was thinking we could go to Bimini or somewhere in the Caribbean for a few days. We can come back by Sunday evening just in time for work on Monday."

Almost forgetting that Will asked her to look for a document in Roberts email, Joanna comes up with an excuse.

"That sounds great but when would leave?"

"I can get my assistant to arrange everything and we could leave this afternoon or later in the evening. It doesn't matter to me as long as we just get away for a few days. I'll call her now so she can make the arrangements."

Julian walks back to the bedroom to make the call while Joanna starts thinking of an excuse to leave so she can go to the office. She figures she'll tell Julian that she has to pick up a few things for the trip and stop by the office also. That should give her a two to three hour window to get to the office then do a little shopping as a cover. She'll have Will meet her somewhere if she gets the information he needs and still make it back in time to leave. She walks in the bedroom and Julian is on the phone with his assistant so she figures she'll take a shower and tell him when he's done.


	2. Chapter 2

After arranging everything for their trip, Julian got busy in the kitchen making a late breakfast. In the bedroom, Joanna was getting dressed and keeping her story straight in her head that she was going to tell Julian so she could have enough time to make it to the office and do some quick shopping for the trip. As she steps out of the bedroom door, the aroma of pancakes, fruit and eggs filled the air. She paused for a second to breathe it in and thought to herself how lucky she was to have him back in her life. She longs for the day that this case is closed and she can stop hiding things from him but she knows it may not be that easy. As she enters the kitchen, she smiles at the site of him moving back-and-forth between the stove and the sink with the pots and cutlery in his hands.

"Do you need some help?"

He turns to her and laughs.

"No, I've got this under control just have a seat."

He fills the their plates with food and brings them over to the table. He goes back to the kitchen for the orange juice and glasses and almost forgets the forks. Finally he's able to sit down and enjoy the meal he created for them.

"Oh babe, you look tired but the food smells good so I'll say thank you in advance."

"You're welcome. Anything for you, for us, is never tiring. So are still going to the office?"

Joanna thought for a quick second while chewing her food.

"Yeah I really need to make sure your dad's calendar is setup for Monday and then I'll do a little shopping for the trip. I don't think I'll be gone more than two hours or so."

"You want some company?"

"No, I'll be fine and I might want to pick up something to surprise you with at La Perla so you coming along would spoil that."

Joanna looks at him with her sexy girlish look which melts Julian's heart. He loves it when she teases him.

"I could help you pick it out."

"But then it won't be a surprise for later would it?"

"Fine. Just be back before 4pm, I have a car picking us up at that time."

Joanna gets up from her seat and picks up her plate. She walks over to him and grabs his as well and leans over to kiss him.

"Don't worry, I'll be back in time."

She places the dishes in the dishwasher and goes into the bedroom to retrieve her purse and phone. She sends Will a text to let him know she's on her way to the office as she walks towards the elevator door. She calls out to Julian to let him know that she is leaving and starts walking towards her.

"Hurry back."

They lean into each for a quick kiss and she enters the elevator. She hates lying to him and she feels the weight of those lies building up on her with each one she is forced to tell him. She consoles herself by thinking it's only temporary and she will be able to tell him everything eventually but she fears he may not forgive her.

After watching her leave, Julian goes to the bedroom to pack. As he walks in the room, he stares at their unmade bed and thinks about the incredible love they made just hours before. Joanna has always been the one woman who holds the key to his heart since they were teenagers. Sometimes it overwhelms him to know that after all the years they spent apart, they finally got the chance to be together and continue with the love they started so long ago. There's only one thing that is coming between now and he hopes that they can resolve it this weekend. And he knows that they have to because he does not want to lose her again.

Joanna arrives at the office and as she is parking her car, she surveys the parking lot to see if Robert's car is there. Even though they all have the day off, he may still pop in for something so she has to be careful. She signs in at the security desk and makes her way to the elevator. Upon arriving at her work floor, Joanna once again surveys the room for the possibility of Robert being in the office. There is a small number of employees working today so it would be easy to spot Robert if he was in fact in the office. As she walks toward her desk, she encounters Sharon who is one of the administrative assistants on the floor.

"Hey Joanna, I thought you were off today?"

"Yeah I am actually but I remembered that I didn't finalize Mr. Bowers' schedule for Monday so I popped in to do that. How's your day going?"

"It's been good so far but I can't wait to get out of here and start my weekend. How was the party last night."

"It was good and still going on when I left. By the way, has Robert, been in today at all?"

"Yes he was here earlier this morning but he didn't stay long."

"Okay thanks. I'll talk to you later."

As Joanna begins to walk away, Sharon called out to her again.

:Hey Joanna, I'm curious so I have to ask. Are you dating Julian Bowers?'

Joanna blushed a little and tilted her head.

"Why?."

"Well, he is the office hottie and there are some rumors, you know, girl talk. Forgive me if I'm being a little forward but everything tends to stop when he comes in the office while we all stare him down. So…are you guys dating?"

"Sharon I think I'll plead the fifth on that one."

Joanna smiles and then walks away but Sharon takes her answer as a "yes" and quickly walks off in the other direction.

Joanna sits down at her desk and logs on to her computer. She pulls up Robert's daily calendar to cover herself in case someone comes over. She begins to type and shuffle papers around as though she is missing something. Looking perplexed, she gets up and goes into Robert's office and looks through papers in there as well to again to appear like she is looking for something in particular. She looks up and scans the office through the glass door. Feeling as though the coast is clear, she logs on to Robert's computer and quickly brings up his email. She does a name search for Ben Preswick and it returns five correspondences and she clicks on the one dated two weeks before Ben's death.

"_Robert – we need to talk about Vivian and Lyritol. This is your last chance to speak _

_with ne before I go to the police with everything. Call me!"_

"_Ben – I have nothing to discuss with you about my daughter or my company. Do not contact me again." _

Joanna found the email to be brief and not incriminating but she printed it out anyway for Will's request. She looked through the other emails but they were during the time Ben worked at Bowers and had nothing to do with the case. She kept looking around the office while she closed Robert's email and then she cleared the search history and logged off. She pretended like she found the paperwork she was looking for and exited his office and went back to her desk. She typed in the some appointments in his calendar and rearranged some others that will occur next week and then lingered around for a little while longer so that she looked busy. She waited another thirty minutes and then got her things together and left. She accomplished both tasks and had the perfect cover just in case anyone wondered why she was there on her day off.

She texted Will as she left the building so he knew to meet her at their spot under the bridge. As she was reading his response, a call was coming in. It was her mother calling to check on her. She's been worried about her ever since she went back home and reluctantly left her behind in the Bowers house. She's also not pleased that Joanna moved in with Julian.

"Hi mom, is everything okay?"

"Hi Jo, everything is fine and I'm feeling good. I just wanted to check on you. How's is everything going with you?"

"I'm fine mom you really don't have to worry."

"Jo, I'm always going to worry about you but more so now because you're still there with that family. Are you coming to see me anytime soon?"

"I'm working on that mom and I'll make sure I get there soon. Probably in another two weeks or so. Are you sure everything is okay?"

"Everything is okay Jo I just want you to be careful. I know you love Julian but don't fool yourself. Keep your eyes open because things can change in an instant."

"I know mom and I will. I love you."

"I love you too. Stay safe."

"Always."

Beverly has never gotten over catching Joanna and Julian in bed together and she has never really forgiven him either. She doubts the love Julian has for her daughter is real because she sees a lot of his father in him and this is why she fears for Joanna. There are a lot of things she hasn't told her daughter about the Bowers family and she would rather they both stay away from them. Joanna knows this but she also knows Julian in a way that her mother does not. Her mother's disdain for the family is what always stood in the way of her and Julian becoming a full fledged couple when they were teenagers. She has always tried to respect her mother's feelings but now that she is grown, she and Julian have the right to be together if they choose to. Nonetheless, she heeds her mother's advice to a certain extent but will not stop loving Julian either.

As she approaches the park, she can see Will walking in the distance. She parks a few cars away from his to be inconspicuous. Their meetings are usually brief as they update each other and trade information on the case. Will has been trying to be all business with Joanna ever since she chose Julian over him but these meetings have become unbearable ever since. He sometimes kicks himself for not being upfront with her about his feelings and what he wanted to happen between them but after seeing her with Julian, he has concluded that it may not have mattered anyway.

Joanna parks her car and starts walking in the same direction as Will to meet under the bridge. When they catch up to each other, Will doesn't hold back the sarcasm.

"I was starting to think you forgot about the case again."

"Will, I told you this was not a work day for me so I had to hang out in the office for a while before leaving. Any way, here's the email you asked for. It's hardly incriminating but it does show that Robert and Ben knew each other personally. How will you use this?"

"I'm not sure yet but probably during a second questioning, I'll factor it in somewhere. Do you have anything else for me?"

"No this is all so far. Oh, just so you know, I'm not going to be in town starting later on tonight. I'll be back Monday night though."

"You're going out of town? With him? Wait why am I even asking. Disregard that. It's cool. I'll make do if something comes up. Bye."

Will storms off and Joanna follows him.

"Will, wait. Why can't we just be friends? I want that but you refuse to talk me about it. I understand how you feel but…"

"But what Joanna? Do what you have to do and I'll do the same. I told you it's cool. I'll touch base with you on Monday or I'll try to reach you if something comes up but right now, I have to go."

Will turns and walks away but this time Joanna lets him go. She never intended to hurt him but it seems things worked out that way. Their relationship was never solidified or defined in any way and he always left her confused. Their brief one week fling and then reconnecting over this case was never strong in Joanna's mind but Will didn't show her that he had feelings otherwise. She does blame herself for not telling him about her and Julian's history but given the circumstance and the amount of time that had past, it didn't seem to matter at the time.

Joanna opted to walk to the closest department store and pick up a few things for the trip. The walk also helped clear her mind of her and Will's meeting. She stopped in a little boutique and quickly got lost in the cute outfits she browsed through. She purchased three of them and some lingerie that was sure to have Julian panting at the site of it. Glancing at her watch, she realized it was 2:45p and she still hadn't packed. She took out her phone and called Julian while rushing back to her car at the park.

"I knew you were going to be back later than you said. Just tell me you're on the way."

Joanna laughed because she knows that he knows her better than anybody.

"I'm on my way now and I should be there in 15 minutes. Can you take out the suitcase for me so I can throw some things in there?"

"Already done just hurry up."

"Coming now."

"You said that in bed last night."

They both started laughing and Joanna shook her head as she started the car.

"I'm on my way. Bye Julian."

Twenty minutes later, Julian heard the elevator as it was about to stop at his door. He went over to meet Joanna when it opened just incase she needed help with her bags. Joanna was taken aback to see him there when the doors opened but she handed him the bags because she knew why he was standing there.

"Okay chop chop. We have less than an hour before the car gets here. The suitcase is out and I took out some things from the closet but I'm sure you're going to put them back."

"Gee whiz, I know how to pack in a hurry. I'll be done in a few minutes then freshen up and change my clothes all before four o'clock."

"Care to place a bet on that?"

Joanna looks straight at Julian and then gives him a side-eye.

"I'll be ready."

She mentally picked out everything to pack on her way home so she knew exactly what she wanted. She gathered all of those items in a hurry but did not fold them as neatly as she could but she still managed to get them in the suitcase along with some shoes. She then freshened up in the bathroom and dressed. She decided to put her hair in a ponytail because doing anything else to it at this point would definitely push her over the time limit. She then checked herself in the mirror and thought everything looked good together for a rush job. When she came out of the bathroom, Julian was picking up her suitcase. He turned and looked at her and immediately started to smile.

"Wow, you look great and you're seven minutes ahead schedule. Now that's a miracle."

"Oh shut up, lets go."

As they rode the elevator down, Julian leans over and kisses Joanna's cheek.

"What was that for?"

He looked at her lovingly as he always does before responding.

"Because you're amazing and I love you."

Joanna felt like heart stopped for few a seconds. This man is her everything.

**Chapter 3 will be added next week. Thanks for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

The flight from New York to Bimini wasn't as long as Joanna thought it would be. She and Julian watched an in flight movie and had conversations in between both of which made the time go by quickly. A driver greeted them at the airport to take them to the resort where they would be staying and Joanna enjoyed the breath taking views along the ride. The last time she and Julian went on a trip it was for business so she made sure to relax and taken in all of the things she didn't see the last time. The concierge met them at the hotel entrance and assisted them with their check in needs.

"Welcome Mr. Bowers. We are happy to have you and Ms. Padget staying with us for the next few days. Now if you would follow me this way to the main desk, we can complete your check-in and get you the room key."

Julian walked over to the desk with the concierge but Joanna decided to walk over to the bar for a quick drink. She asked the bartender for a sparkling water with ice and sat back to enjoy it while waiting for Julian. Her natural detective instincts kicked in and she couldn't help but survey the room which was filled with a lot of couples but there were also singles traveling in groups just relaxing and having fun. A short while later, she noticed a bellman walking towards her and she figured he was coming to tell her that Julian was ready. She took one last sip of her drink and followed the bellman back to the lobby where Julian was standing next to the luggage waiting for her.

"Wow, we're here five minutes and you abandoned me already?"

"I was thirsty so I went over to the bar. What'd you think, I left you for some random guy?"

"Well if you did, I know he wouldn't be as good looking as I am so you'd come running back anyway."

Joanna laughed and shook her head. Julian is never short of a come back line which almost always makes her laugh and this is one her favorite things about him.

The bellman loaded their luggage on to a golf cart and drove them over to their villa. Upon entering, Joanna is pleasantly surprised with their accommodations. The villa was beautifully decorated with a captivating view of the ocean and everything at their fingertips. Julian assisted the bellman with the luggage and gave him a hefty tip as he was leaving. He brings some of the luggage into the bedroom where he finds Joanna on the terrace enjoying the sunset.

"Hey, what are you doing out here?"

"I couldn't resist – the view is so beautiful. Stay with me for a few minutes."

Joanna extends her hand to Julian which he takes and pulls her closer to him. Standing there on the terrace they lost themselves in the view and the smell of the ocean. Julian turns and looks down at Joanna as he slips his arm around her waist. He was pleased to see the look of bliss on her face and wondered what was going through her mind.

"What are you thinking about Ms. Padget?"

"I don't know. I'm just so ….. relaxed right now and happy. Thank you for this – the trip, you, everything. I only hope that I make you this happy and maybe a little more."

"You've always made me happy Joanna. Just being in the same room with you is enough for me. But promise me something. I want you to promise me that you won't leave me again. I know 17 years ago wasn't our choice but now it is and I realize that things won't always be easy but I know we are meant to be together and I'm willing to do whatever it takes – just stay with me."

Joanna could barely look at Julian. She wanted to respond. She had the words in her mouth but once again the lie that she has been hiding prevented her from saying exactly what she wanted to say. Of course she'll stay, that's what she wants more than anything but will he still feel the same when she finally reveals everything?

Too afraid to audibly answer, she turned around and faced him. Looking up into his blue eyes, she wrapped her arms his neck and kissed him passionately. Julian responded with equal passion and accepted this as her "yes".

After a few more minutes on the terrace, they went back into the room and Julian went to retrieve the last of the luggage in the living room. They start unpacking and walking back and forth between the closet and the dresser. Joanna glances at her watch and realizes that it's almost 8pm.

"It's almost 8 o'clock, what are we going to do for dinner?"

"Well we could stay in and order room service or we could go up to the restaurant. Either one is fine with me."

"Okay lets go to the restaurant. It's too beautiful to stay in. I'll be ready in a few minutes."

Joanna picks out something to wear for dinner and goes into the bathroom to freshen up. She changes into a little black dress she bought earlier today and decides that her hair looks better down. She took one last look in the mirror before emerging from the bathroom to make sure she liked the way she looked. When she came up out, Julian was in the closet changing as well. He was trying to decide between a gray or a light purple shirt to go with his jeans and then he turned around to see Joanna standing at the closet door.

"Oh don't you look nice."

"Thank you. I like the gray shirt, go with that one."

"The lady has spoken so gray it is."

Julian gathered his wallet, phone and room key and they finally made it out the door choosing to walk to the restaurant instead of calling the front desk for an escort. Once they got there, it didn't take long for them to be seated and the aroma made them realize just how hungry they were. They ordered entree's and desert afterwards and as usual, they were so engaged in their conversation that they lost track of time. They were reminiscing on their high school years and Julian teased Joanna about the year she had to wear braces. One person who is apart of their memories is Vivian and they are never able to talk about the past without mentioning her. At times it is painful for them both but talking about her and remembering the fun times quickly numbs the pain of it all. Joanna had one question she has been reluctant to ask but decided that this may be a good time to ask.

"I've been wanting to ask you something for a while now."

"About Vivian? What is it?"

"Did you guys ever talk about me after I left or was she still angry at me for telling your dad the night she was trying to run away?"

"After she came back from the place where she had Mia, she didn't say much to anyone. I knew she was still angry and we got into an argument before I left for college and she told me to get over you. I think she always knew that I was in love you and she loved you too but she let the anger get the best of her. The drugs were an escape for her and when she couldn't get them, she lashed out at everyone. The only thing I'm sure of is she did miss you a lot and so did I."

"I missed you guys too. I was so hurt when my mom wouldn't let me say goodbye and I just thought I would never see any of you again. I was depressed for like a year after that and I even thought about running away at one point but you know me I chickened out of course."

"Hey don't beat yourself up about it. Things were beyond our control back then and your mom felt she had to protect you. I wish Vivian had someone to protect her like that and maybe she would still be here. But I know she would be happy to know that Mia and you are close and that nullifies all of the past hurt."

"She reminds a lot of her but she's definitely stronger."

"I agree."

Julian gazes at Joanna for a moment and realizes just how hurt she is about Vivian. He wishes he had more positive things to say but he doesn't because almost everything with Vivian was complicated.

"How about we get out of here and go for walk and may be take this bottle with us?"

"Okay. That sounds good."

Julian motions for the waiter to come over. He signs the check and gives him a tip. He then walks over to Joanna and pulls here chair out for her to get up and he tells her to grab the two glasses on the table. They walk along the boardwalk and pick a spot to sit and enjoy the rest of their wine and before they realize it, an hour had passed and the bottle is empty. Joanna moves closer to Julian and lays her head on his chest and they sat in silence for a while and watched the ocean waves under the moonlight. Joanna started to feel a little uneasy or may be she was just tipsy from the wine but she felt the need to lie down.

"I think the wine is getting to me now, do you mind if we head back to the room?"

"Sure, come on."

He helped Joanna up and held on to her hand as they walked back to their villa. Upon arrival, they went straight to the bedroom and Julian fell down on the bed. Joanna went to the bathroom. She's not a heavy or frequent drinker so the wine had her feeling somewhat drunk. She tried washing her face with some cool water and just standing still for a moment to catch her balance. When she opened the door she saw Julian lying on the bed and went to lay beside him. He stroked her hair and felt the coolness of her face.

"Are you okay?"

"I think I'm a little tipsy from the wine. Two glasses is usually my limit but four seems to be getting the best of me."

"Well luckily I'm a doctor and can take care of you. Just lay here for a little while and it will start to subside."

The laid fully clothed in the bed cuddled in each other arms. Neither one was aware that the other had drifted off to sleep and they stayed that way for the entire night only to be awakened by Julian's ringtone in the morning.

The sound of the phone ringing startled them both and Julian stuck his hand in his pocket to retrieve it. He squinted eyes his at the screen and the caller's name became clearer. It was his father calling which was somewhat of a surprise. Barely awake, he answered the phone just in case it was something serious. .

"Hi dad, is everything okay?"

"Julian – did I wake you? "

"Yeah but that's okay. What's up?"

"Sophia and I wanted to invite you and Joanna over for dinner tonight if you don't already have plans."

"Thanks but we're not in town. We decided at the last minute to get away for a few days and we won't be back until Monday morning. How about next weekend instead?"

"Okay we can reschedule I guess. Where are you if I may ask?"

Robert couldn't contain his curiosity about Julian's whereabouts especially since he was with Joanna. He understands that Julian is in love with her but he's still suspicious of her motives for wanting to be with him.

"We're in the Caribbean enjoying a little quiet time away from the city."

"I see. Well enjoy and I'll see you both when you get back."

Robert's grin turned to dismay as he hung up the phone. Sophia walked in at the same time and could tell by the look on Robert's face that he was not pleased.

"What's wrong dear? Did Julian upset you?"

"No but he and Joanna are out of town and won't be joining us tonight?"

"Oh. Where did they go? And she's your assistant so shouldn't she have informed you beforehand?"

"She left word that she would be in midday on Monday. Apparently they are somewhere in the Caribbean. I know Julian is happy but he's also changing which hasn't necessarily been bad but I can't help but wonder if she's using him or something."

"Whatever it is Robert just keep digging and you'll get to the bottom of it. She may be harmless or just wants his money or maybe she is in love with him too. You're just not used to seeing him this way but whatever it is darling, you'll find out soon enough."

'You're right. I will find out."

Julian turns to place his phone on the charger next to the bed and then he feels Joanna bolt from the bed. As he turns in her direction, he watches her run to the bathroom and he gets up and hurries after her. He stops at the bathroom door and finds Joanna leaning over the toilet as she throws up. He walks over to her to and rubs her back to soothe her.

"That wine did not sit well with you at all last night. No more of that for you young lady."

He reaches over and grabs a clean towel from the rack and wipes Joanna's face. Feeling a little weak, she leans in to him to keep herself balanced.

"Do you feel like more is coming up?"

"I don't think so but I do feel kind of weak. I think I need to sit down for a minute."

Julian lowers the toilet seat and helps her sit down and he in turn kneels down in front of her. He feels her forehead to check for a fever and then pushes her hair behind her ears.

"You don't have a fever which leads me to believe that you are suffering from the classic hangover. I'll have the front desk send over some alka-seltzer and aspirin for the headache that will soon follow. In the meantime, let me get you out of those clothes and into the tub with some warm water."

Joanna slowly starts slipping off her dress shoulders first. She can't believe how sick she feels since she hadn't had a hangover since college. She watches Julian as he leans to plug the tub and fill it with water. He turns around to see her trying to stand and slip off her dress.

"Let me help you with that. I guess we were really out of it last night for us to wind up sleeping in our clothes."

"I know right? When I woke up, I thought it was still night time. What time is it anyway?"

"My watch is by the bed but I think it's about 10:30 or so. It was 10 o'clock when my dad called a little while ago."

As he helps her undress, his can't help but at the stare at her naked body. It's definitely not the first time he has seen her naked but every time he sees her this way, he is reminded of just how beautiful she is inside and out. He holds her hand as she steps into the tub and doesn't let go until she is sitting. The warmth of the water is soothing and rests her head against the edge of the tub.

"Relax for a few minutes while I call the front desk for the alka-seltzer and aspirin."

Joanna nods as she is laying back with her eyes closed savoring the relief her body feels at the moment. Her eyes open as she hears Julian's footsteps coming closer. She looks up at him as he kneels down next to the tub.

"Housekeeping is bringing the medicine in a little bit. Now for the fun part. I get to lather you up."

They both start laughing as Julian reaches for a washcloth.

"Remember I'm sick so don't get any ideas."

"Me? Ideas? I would never take advantage of a lady in distress - unless of course you want me to."

"Save those ideas for later and we'll both take advantage of them."

Gently, Julian begins to bathe Joanna's body. He meticulously traces every inch of her with the washcloth using gentle strokes in most places while slowly sliding down each of her carmel thighs. She leans forward and he washes her back during which he couldn't help but kiss her right shoulder. He has always found it hard to resist her and this situation was no different but somehow he managed to mostly restrain himself. Once he finishes, she stands up and he wraps her with a towel and she steps out of the tub. As he is about to help her dry off, they hear a knock at the door.

"Housekeeping!"

Julian looks at Joanna while still holding her hand.

"Will you be okay while I get the door?"

"Yeah go ahead I'll be fine."

He closes the bathroom door behind him and Joanna proceeds to dry herself off. She feels a little guilty for getting sick and ruining their getaway but she's amazed at the care Julian is giving her because she has never had a man take care of her in this way. She's always known that he had a big heart and being a doctor was all he would talk about when they were younger and now she has experienced first hand some of his bedside manner and finds it all befitting of him.

She slips into her bathrobe and brushes her teeth. A few minutes later, Julian comes back in to check on her.

"Ah, the patient is making progress I see. Well I have your medicine so as soon as you're done, you're taking it and getting back in bed."

He continues to lean on the door and wait for her to finish up. They go back into the bedroom and Joanna changes into something more suitable for bed. Julian mixes the alka-seltzer in a glass of water a places by the bedside while he helps Joanna get back in the bed.

"You know I'm feeling a little better now so may be we can skip the medicine get some food instead."

"I don't think food is a good idea just yet. It's been a while since you've been hung over so you may just bring up anything you eat right now. This will settle your stomach and tackle the impending headache you may have in a little while. Trust me, just take this and eat later, you'll get better results."

As he handed the glass to her, Joanna wrinkled her nose at the fizzling bubbles rising from the glass. He watched as she drank it all and gave her a kiss of approval afterwards.

"See that wasn't so bad was it? Now rest and I'll wake you up in a couple of hours and we'll go for a late lunch."

"What will you do in the meantime?"

"I ordered some toast and coffee so I'll eat that, shower and maybe walk down to the casino and try not to lose any money."

Joanna raises her hand to Julian's face and caresses his cheek.

"I feel like I'm ruining the trip but I'll make it up to you later."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Julian leans forward and kisses her and whispers "I love you" in her ear and face-to-face, she says the same. He tucks her in and as he starts to walk away, Joanna remembers that he said his father called earlier.

"Oh, is everything okay with your dad? You did say he called earlier, right?"

"Yeah but he was inviting us to dinner tonight with him and Sophia but I told him we are out of town so maybe next weekend instead."

"Next weekend is good."

Julian leaves the room and Joanna settles into the bed. He briefly reads the local paper while drinking his coffee and eating toast. A little while later, he goes back into the room and finds Joanna asleep once again. He quietly works his way around the room gathering the things he needs for a shower and changing and a half hour later, he's ready to go. He checks on Joanna once more before leaving and then hangs the _Do Not Disturb_ sign on the door so the maid knows not to enter. He decided to walk to the casino instead calling for the door to door pick up service so he could take in the island breeze and enjoy the view. It took him less than 15 minutes to get to the casino and once he arrived, he took advantage of his already comped gambling privilege and requested $5000.00 in chips. The hostess came over and suggested a few games to him of which he chose to start with the blackjack table. He bought into the game and sat down and as soon as he did, he noticed a very attractive group of women looking at him. He smiled at them but then turned away so that he didn't send the wrong message to any of them. As he was getting ready for his third round in the game, one the women made their way over to him and introduced her self.

"Hi there. You know, you look very familiar to me and my friends and then we realized who you are. You're Julian Bowers from Manhattan right?"

"Guilty as charged. And you are?"

"I'm sure you don't remember me but I came to one of your parties last year. You were dating this girl I know by the name of Trish and she invited us all to your party one night. I'm Amy by the way."

"You're right, I don't remember you sorry but I hope you enjoyed the party."

"Yeah it was great and so were you. Are you here alone or with someone?"

In the past, Julian was always able to answer questions like this very nonchalantly and helped himself to whatever came next but things were very different now. Joanna, the love of his life, has enabled him to answer such questions in a very different way.


	4. Chapter 4

As the blackjack dealer was ready to deal everyone in Julian declined. He gathered his remaining chips and stood up from the table and turned to face Amy who was eagerly awaiting answer to her question.

"Actually, I'm here with my girlfriend." Julian spoke these words in a very serious tone accompanied by his irresistible smile.

"Oh really, who are you dating now? Anyone I would know?" Amy was disappointed with his answer because she was hoping to finally hookup with him, but her disappointed did not end her curiosity. She wanted to know who beat her to the punch this time.

"No, you wouldn't know her. She doesn't hangout with the Manhattan crowd." Julian says smiling as he looks around the room for another game to join.

He's also eager to get away from Amy. It's been months since he has partied in his usual circles and he hasn't missed it. He found himself changing as his relationship with Joanna grew and he no longer needed to escape the emptiness he has felt inside for years. He was finally "growing up" and the sex, partying and drugs are a thing of the past.

Disappointed but still somewhat determined, Amy extends another invitation before leaving.

"Well like I said, I'm here with a few friends and we're having a little party of sorts on the beach tonight since we're leaving tomorrow afternoon. You and your "girlfriend" can join us if you like. We'll try to behave." Amy stepped a little closer to Julian as she said this but he took two steps back.

"Yeah thanks. I'll keep that in mind. Now if you'll excuse me, I think that Roulette table has my name on it."

Julian casually walks away while Amy watches. He's also proud of himself because the old Julian would have left with her instead.

As he approaches the Roulette table, he feels his phone vibrating in his pocket and reaches in to retrieve it. It was a text message alert and he already had an idea who it was from.

_"I'm up and I feel much better. Where are you :(?"_

Joanna texted adding a sad face emoticon.

_"At the casino losing my shirt and being harassed by an insane number of women :)."_

Julian texted back laughing to himself as he waited for her reply.

Joanna read Julian's reply and her eyes got big for a moment but then she decided to call his bluff.

_"Oh yeah, how many?"_

_"A lot! To many to count."_

_"Well pry yourself away and get back here. I'm hungry."_

_"Yes dear. I'll be there as soon I finish this last game."_

_"Okay. And btw, it's a group of old ladies hitting on you huh?"_

_"Yep. I'm irresistible to all ages."_

Julian, the comeback king, once again won the tit-for-tat with a sarcastic but funny reply to Joanna which left her chuckling to herself as usual.

Joanna put her phone down and got out of the bed. She was feeling better but she was also ravenously hungry since she hadn't eaten since last night. She walked into the closet and searched through her outfits for something to wear. She settled on a pair of jeans and a light colored blouse and got dressed for the day. She put on a pair of wedges that complemented her outfit perfectly but when she stood up, she felt a little dizzy with the added height. She figured she was still feeling the after effects of the hangover so she decided to go with a pair of flats to be on the safe side.

Julian is now coming to terms with the fact that lady luck is not on his side today and plays one last round of roulette before leaving the table. He glances at his watch and feels that Joanna should be ready by now. He picks up his remaining chips and puts them in his pocket for the next time he comes back to the casino. He requests a driver to take him back to the villa and when he arrives, he finds Joanna more than ready to go.

"Finally, I'm starving. I was just about to leave without you." Joanna picks up her purse and walks toward Julian as he is standing at the door. He kisses her on the cheek to smooth things over for keeping her waiting.

"Sorry but I lost track of time trying to when my money back." Julian empties the chips on to the table next to the couch as he didn't want to walk around with them for the rest of the day.

"How much did you lose?" Joanna said as she counted a few a the chips.

"I don't know. I lost count at $2,000.00." Julian said looking unfazed.

Joanna rested her hand on his cheek and smiled and said, "Well that's what you get for flirting with little old ladies."

They both laughed as they walked out of the door and towards the waiting car. They enjoyed a nice lunch at the hotel's restaurant and then spent the rest of the afternoon walking around town and shopping. Joanna found a lot of nice things to wear and some adorable accessories all of which she insisted on paying for her self. She felt more independent that way and she never wants Julian to feel that she expects him to buy her everything even though he tries to each and every time. The fact the he is the son of a billionaire was one of the reasons why she was so hesitant to be open about their relationship when they were younger. She always felt that being the maid's daughter did not make her worthy of being his girlfriend even though Julian never cared about that. He always saw as his first love and his best friend and he wanted everyone to know that but she was afraid of what others would say especially her mother. Now that they are grown and have found their way back to each other, she wants him to know that her love for him is real and when the time comes that she has to tell him the truth about everything he'll know that she wasn't pretending.

Realizing that they had amassed more than they could carry, Julian flagged down a taxi to take them back to the villa. On the way there, they talked about what to do for the rest of the evening.

"How about we stay in tonight and order dinner?" Julian said as he had other things in mind that involved her, the bed and the rest of the night.

"But we haven't enjoyed some of the other pleasures on the island. Let's eat at that place on the water instead. They have a live band so we could enjoy dinner and dancing." Joanna flashed her wide smile at Julian and couldn't help but say yes.

Back at their room, they put away the items they bought and got ready for dinner. They somehow color coordinated their outfits without discussion with each admiring the other. Joanna changed into a silky blue and white print dress and Julian was dressed in a blue suite with a white shirt but no tie.

"Ooh, blue looks good on you Mr. Bowers." Joanna said as she walked towards him.

"It looks great on you too Ms. Padget." he said as he met her in the middle of the room.

Julian bent down and started kissing Joanna on her neck. He wanted to skip dinner at that moment and take her straight to bed but she pushed him back a little.

"Are you sure you want to go out? We can have more fun here." Julian kissed her lips and looked her in the eyes but Joanna stood firm.

"We're going Julian. We'll have plenty of time for everything else when we get back." She took his hand from around her waist and clasped it in hers to lead him out the door.

The taxi driver returned to pick them up and dropped them off at the restaurant. Julian tipped him and asked him to come back in about 2 hours to drive them back to their villa when they are ready. At the restaurant they both ordered a lobster and steak entrée with ginger ale as their drink of choice instead of alcohol. Joanna didn't want to have a repeat episode of the night before and Julian didn't want to drink without her so he ordered what she ordered instead.

They hit the dance floor when they finished their meal as the band played a variety of songs. Joanna loves dancing and Julian could hardly keep up with her on the fast songs but held her close when a slow song was played. He realized she was right, they wouldn't have had this much fun if they stayed in and he was glad that they came.

"This was a great idea." he whispered in her ear as he held he close during the song.

"I know I'm really enjoying this but ….." Joanna took a beat so Julian would look at her before she finished what she was about to say.

"But what?" Julian stopped their dance and looked at Joanna with concern.

Joanna leaned in to whisper in his ear. "I'm ready for you to take me to bed now."

"That's an even better idea." Julian whispered back.

They returned to their table and gathered their things. Julian requested the check from the waiter. When the waiter returned for Julian's signature he confirmed that there was a taxi driver waiting for them out front. Julian thanked the driver for coming back as they hopped in. It was a short distance to their villa but they managed to squeeze in a few kisses before arriving. Once in the door, they left a trail of items from the front door to the bedroom. Their guest key, shoes, Joanna's purse, Julian's shirt and some other items of clothing lay strewn behind them. They laid on the bed kissing intensely and caressing and undressing one another and then they both heard a knock at the door. They stopped at looked at each puzzled as to who could be knocking at 11:30pm as they had just gotten in a few minutes before.

Joanna was laying beneath Julian with her top off and her legs wrapped around him. He looked down at her and said, "Do you think we should answer that?"

Another knock came and Joanna responded. "Answer it. It might be important or someone at the wrong door. Just be careful."

Julian reluctantly got up, found his shirt midway between the bedroom door and the hallway and put it on. When he approached the door, he looked out of the peephole and saw that it was the taxi driver who had just dropped them off.

"Hello. Can I help you?" Julian yelled through the door but did not open it.

"Yes sir, I'm sorry to bother you but you left a cell phone in my car and I wanted to return it." the driver said on the opposite side of the door while holding up the phone for Julian to see.

Julian opened the door and took a look at the cell phone and recognized it as Joanna's. She was unaware that it had slipped out of her purse and he tapped the screen to verify her name on the home page but also glanced at a text message notification from "_Stupid"_.

Julian did a double take to make sure he was reading the screen correctly. He stood in the doorway frozen for a second staring at the phone in his hand. He snapped out of it when the driver spoke.

"Sir, this is your phone right?" said the driver.

Julian looked at him in dismay.

"Um, yeah, it's my…it's my girlfriend's phone. Thanks for returning it. Wait a second. Let me give you something for your trouble." Julian reached into his pocket and handed the driver a tip.

"Thank you sir. Have a good evening." the driver said as he walked away.

Julian slowly closed the door still holding the phone in his right hand. He tapped and swiped the screen once more just to verify that the notification was still there. He wanted to read the message to find out why _"Stupid" _was still contacting her after all this was the guy he presumably had to compete with when she came back into his life. They spoke briefly on the phone months earlier when he playfully answered it at the gas station and he's the same guy whose heart he wanted her to break instead of his. So why are they still in contact he thought to himself. His thought was then broken by the sound of Joanna's voice.

"Is everything okay?" she called out from the bedroom.

"Yeah, everything is fine. I'll be there in a second." Julian hesitantly responded as he stood by the door contemplating reading the whole message.

Joanna got up from the bed and went into the bathroom to put on her robe. She took an extra minute to put her hair up and wipe off her eye shadow. When she emerged from the bathroom, she found Julian sitting on the edge of the bed with her phone in his hand. Trying not to look concerned, she paused by the bathroom door and asked him why he had it.

"Hey, is that my phone?" Joanna asked in an inquisitive tone.

"Yes it is. Apparently it fell out of your purse in the car. The driver was kind enough to return it." Julian said with a slight tone of suspicion in his voice.

"Oh, that was nice of him." Joanna said as she walked towards Julian with her hand extended to receive the phone.

Instead of giving Joanna the phone, Julian motioned for her to sit next to him.

"Come here." he said as looked at the phone.

As Joanna slowly sat down next to him, he turned to her and looked her in the eyes. He took in a slow breath before he began to speak as he did not want to sound angry. He put the phone between the small space that separated them and began to speak.

"Why do you have a text message from that guy _"Stupid"_ on your phone? I assumed that was over months ago so why is he still calling you?" Julian asked calmly.

Joanna's eyes grew bigger but she tried to contain her surprise as she mentally searched for an answer.

"You went through my phone?" Joanna responded with annoyance.

"I wanted to verify it was yours before taking it from the guy so I swiped the screen and the notification was there. Is that a problem?" Julian asked.

Joanna picked up the phone and swiped the screen and saw the notification. She quickly closed the screen and got up to put it back in her purse but Julian held on to her hand.

"What's going on Joanna? Is he the reason why I find you on the balcony on secret phone calls from your "ex" or you suddenly disappear at times with your phone?" Julian said as he stood up still holding her hand.

Joanna quietly responded "No." with her head down.

"Then why is he still calling you? And who is he and what's with the codename anyway?" Julian's voice began rise as he became inpatient with Joanna's lack of response.

Joanna looked up and Julian and she could see the hurt and anger in his eyes. She was lost for a response. She started feeling like maybe this is moment to come clean; or was it? What else could she say? Does she choose love or a lie? If she continues to lie, the lies will only get bigger and he'll get more suspicious. She stood frozen in her moment of indecision staring into Julian's eyes as he waited for her response. Full of guilt, she let go of Julian's hand and walked out of the bedroom and into the living room to find her purse.

Julian stood speechless in the room and he felt his heart breaking in his chest. He watched her pick up her purse and noticed that tears began to run down her face. He went to the door and leaned against the frame as he continued to watch her.

"Joanna." he said calmly.

She turned around to face him and seeing the look in his eyes crushed her. It felt like the day they were torn apart and separated by her mother and she never wanted to feel like that again and especially not with him. She threw her head back and took a deep breath and then she began to speak.

"I have something to tell you but what I am about to say may make you hate me and I don't know if I can handle that so please hear me out before you make any decisions about the "why" of the situation." said Joanna.

"Tell me. I'm listening." Julian said as he began to walk towards her.

As he came closer, Joanna turned to sit on the couch and he followed her lead.

"I didn't know about Vivian's death until a few days after it happened. I was told by someone I used to work with – Will Moreno." Joanna began but she was interrupted by Julian.

"Worked with?" Julian said with curiosity.

"Yes. I worked with almost 3 years ago. He was my partner on the San Francisco police force." Joanna continued as Julian interrupted again.

"What?! Police force?" said Julian.

"Please let me finish. Julian, I'm a cop – a detective with the force and I have been for the past 8 years. Will left when he was accepted to the FBI academy and he became an agent. He contacted me when Vivian died in hopes of me helping him find her killer and to uncovering a possible conspiracy surrounding Lyritol and the rival drug company. At first I said no because I was shocked. I couldn't believe that Vivian was dead let alone someone murdering her. I went through so many emotions before I said yes to coming back for that reason. I tried so hard to put my life in New York behind me and I was afraid to come back but I felt that I owed it to her and to the family. I didn't want to lie and thought it would be over in a few weeks or less but as the circumstances of the case changed the complexities mounted. I didn't realize how much had changed and how much had stayed the same and with the time that has passed so far, we're still not close to solving the case." Joanna paused for a moment because she could see that Julian was confused and angry.

"So you mean to tell me that you didn't come back because you wanted to but because you had to?" Julian asked with confusion.

"I think I would have come when I heard the news whether I was asked to or not but I don't know if I would have had the courage to stay. Coming back I didn't know what I would find and it scared me but I knew I had a job to do and I wanted justice for her." said Joanna.

Julian sat feeling hurt and betrayed. He had a feeling that something was off with Joanna but he choose to ignore it until they started living together.

"Why didn't you tell me this from the beginning?" said Julian.

"I'm undercover so I couldn't tell you or anyone. We didn't really have suspects, persons of interest or even a motive to go on so I was sent to get the case going in the right direction. So much time had passed between that I didn't know if I could trust you." said Joanna.

Julian thought back to Joanna's behavior when she first arrived. She was coy and always pushing him away but she was also suspicious and borderline accusatory when it came to questions about Vivian and now he understood why.

"So I was a suspect huh?" said Julian in a perturbed tone.

Hearing Julian speak those words in an angry tone made her heart sink further into her chest.

"Julian, you have to understand, I didn't know who to trust so I had to remain open to everything until I could prove otherwise. And yes I did suspect you at first but it wasn't until you told me what really happened that night and where you were that I let my guard down. I came back not knowing who you where or who you where with. Like I said, I thought you were married or something. I didn't know anything and I thought what we had was over for you years ago." Joanna pleaded.

"So you knew about the whole thing with Audrey and Haverstock?" said Julian

"I learned about Haverstock as I pieced together the mystery between Mia and Vivian. I suspected a lot about Audrey before her death but I did not know about the plan for a confession that involved you until the day it was decided." said Joanna.

They both took a beat before the next words were spoken. It was as if they were searching each others eyes for the trust that has been broken.

"Is our relationship a part of the case too? Are you being a cop with me or are you truly in love with me? I mean what's real here?" said Julian as he looked at Joanna with disbelief.

"Julian I have tried to suppress my feelings for you for years and I thought maybe I was over you and I could do the case and simply leave but my heart decided otherwise. Me being with you jeopardized the case initially but it was a decision I made wholeheartedly. I was fired but then rehired after Audrey died and new evidence came to light. I love you and there's nothing fake about that and it has nothing to do with the case." said Joanna.

"And when were you planning on telling me everything?" said Julian as he glared at her.

"I was going to tell you when the case solved. You have to understand Julian, no one can know that I'm undercover but I did want to tell you many times I just couldn't. And now that you know, I have to ask you not to tell anyone. Not even your father or case will be over completely." Joanna said with desperation in her voice.

Julian then realized why his father was so suspicious of Joanna. He knows or suspects what she is up to and he's determined to find out and this brought Julian to a crossroad. He now has to choose between his father and Joanna and of the two, which one can he trust. He looked at Joanna sitting across from him and rose to feet. He walked back to the bedroom and put on his shoes and buttoned up his shirt. Joanna walked in and attempted to come near him but h put his hand up to stop her.

"Don't!" Julian said as he shook his head in disapproval.

Joanna stopped in tracks and wiped a tear from her face.

"Where are you going? It's almost 1 a.m." said Joanna.

Julian ignored her concern and finished buttoning his shirt. He walked out of the bedroom and towards the front door and Joanna followed behind him.

"Julian, don't leave. We have to talk, please." Joanna said as she hurried in front of him to block his path.

Julian stopped walking and turned his head to the side to avoid the site of her tears. He then angrily responded to her plea.

"Move. I need to get out of here and breathe some real air. This fake atmosphere is a little too thick for me right now." Julian said as he took step back and walked around Joanna to avoid pushing her out of the way. He then stormed out slamming the door behind him.

The vibration of the door caused Joanna to fall to her knees and cry. Julian stood outside and fell back against the wall of the villa. He was still trying to digest all that Joanna has told him and how he missed everything from the beginning. He could hear her crying through the door and for a moment he considered going back in but he just couldn't and so he left. He walked towards the beach and eyed the lights of the tiki bar a few yards down. He decided to go there and sit for a while to drink and think about everything Joanna has told him.

Julian sat down at the bar and ordered a drink. There was a small crowd still hanging out for the night and separate crowd were having a party a few feet away. In past, this was perfect remedy for avoiding his problems – unlimited drinks and a party – but his no eff's to give attitude had somewhat faded away over past few months and he was different now. As he sat sipping on his drink and lost in thought, a pair of hands covered his eyes.

"Guess who?!" said the excited female voice.

Julian moved the hands and turned around. It was Amy the girl he ran into earlier today at the casino. He cracked a slight smile to hide his mood.

"Hey you." said Julian.

"Hey yourself. Where's your girlfriend? Isn't it kind of late for you to be out here alone?" Amy said sarcastically.

Julian chuckled as he responded, "She's my girlfriend, not my babysitter."

Amy looked around once more and then took a seat next to him and said, "Well I'll keep you company then, if that's okay?"

Julian shrugged his shoulders and continued to drink.

Back at the villa, Joanna was sitting on the couch trying to be patient and wait for Julian to return. He had been gone for almost an hour and she was worried. she decided to go out and try to find him. She thought maybe he was walking along the beach or up at the main hotel lobby. She changed her clothes and put on her shoes and composed herself before walking out the door. She almost forgot to grab her room key and turned around to find it. It was dark out but she wasn't concerned about that. She just wanted to find Julian and talk. As she approached the beach, she saw the lights of the tiki bar and knowing him as she does, she knew it was a sure bet that he would be there.

As she walked closer to the bar, she could see that there was a number of people still people there despite the hour. With each step closer, she was able to make out Julian's frame sitting at the edge of the bar but she also saw someone else. Julian was sitting next to a blond dressed in shorts or a skirt and a skimpy top. She could see them laughing and drinking and she stopped walking as this was a familiar sight for her from the past. She felt devastated but decided not to go any closer and instead turned around and headed back to the villa.


	5. Chapter 5

Joanna was shaking and could barely slide the key in the door. Stunned, she still couldn't erase the sight of Julian laughing with another woman after having an argument with her. It was a repeating cycle that occurred in their teenage dating years. Whenever she turned him down or refused to be seen with him, he would retaliate by hooking up with the next available girl and then avoiding her for days. She felt foolish for starting over with him thinking that he had changed when clearly he hasn't. And now he knows the truth about why she came back in the first place and thinks she is a fake. She sat alone in the bedroom contemplating what to do next. If Julian tells Robert or Edward her true reason for coming back, the case will be lost and she would possibly be in danger.

She looked at her watch to find that it was now after 3a.m. and Julian had not returned. She decided that the only thing left for her to do was leave first thing in the morning because she couldn't stay with him knowing that she last left him in the company of another woman. Her imagination began to run wild. She went to the closet and grabbed all of her clothes and threw them into her suitcase and then set it aside out of view. She figured if she left early enough, she wouldn't be here when he returned and she could make it back to New York on the first available flight. From there, she would decide whether to go back home or move to a hotel until Vivian's killer was found. Either way, she had to go.

Still reeling from despair, she made her way to the bathroom and changed into a t-shirt and shorts. She washed her face and patted her eyes with cool water to relieve the puffiness from crying. As she stood in the mirror, she stared at her reflection and wondered why she did this and was any of it worth it. In edition to losing Vivian for a second time, it seems she's also lost Julian again and maybe forever. She let out a deep sigh and turned off the bathroom light and walked over to the bed. She pulled back the sheets and climbed in. She looked over at the empty space next to her and the tears started again. She reached over and turned off the lamp and laid her head down hoping to fall asleep quickly.

Julian was on his third drink while Amy was chatting away. She kept asking him about mutual friends and recent parties she had attended but did not see him there. She wasn't drunk but she was buzzed and she was determined to get Julian in bed one way or the other.

"So what's the deal? Is your 'girlfriend' a recluse or something? How come I have yet to meet her.?" Amy asked with a devious smile on her face.

Julian didn't want to talk about Joanna and brushed off Amy's question off.

"She doesn't drink but I do. End of story." said Julian in a matter-of-fact tone.

"How did you wind up with a girl who doesn't drink? I guess opposites do attract." said Amy.

She looked at Julian as he ignored her response and sensed that something else was going on. She recognized the look of frustration on his face and thought that he may be looking for something to take his mind off of it.

"Our party is still going on if you care to join us." said Amy as she smiled.

Julian looked over to his left and saw the group of people Amy was referring to. It looked like fun but he found himself unwilling to move from his seat.

"I'll pass this time. I'm not really in party mood right now." Julian said as he sipped on his drink.

"Do I sense some trouble in paradise or do you just want to be alone?" said Amy as she moved a little closer to Julian.

"No trouble I'm just thinking that's all. You can stay or leave it's up to you." Julian said nonchalantly.

Amy chose to stay and her and Julian made small talk over the next hour while drinking. Realizing that she wasn't getting anywhere fast with him, she decided to try something else.

"Well I'm getting a little sleepy so I guess I'll get going to my room." Amy said as she began to rise from her seat. She purposely took a misstep and Julian motioned forward to catch her before she fell.

"Wow, I guess I'm a little drunk huh? Can you walk me back to my room? I don't want to fall asleep in some hallway." Amy said as she held on to Julian's hand.

"Sure." Julian said as he helped her up.

Amy's room was in the main hotel and Julian let her lean on him while walked through the lobby and headed for the elevator.

"What floor are you on?" Julian asked.

"Sixth floor, room 608." Amy said.

They exited the elevator on the 6th floor and Amy continued to lean on Julian as they walked down the hall. When they got to her room, Amy reached in her pocket for her room key. She opened the door and stepped in slightly and then turned to face Julian.

"Do you want to come in for a little while?" Amy said with her head tilted to the side.

Julian stood in the doorway and took a long look at Amy. She was blond, gorgeous and a little drunk all of which were perfect factors in the past for meaningless sex but this time was different. Even though he was angry at Joanna, he had no desire to stay with Amy. Instead, he looked at his watch and declined her offer.

"It's after 4 a.m. and I have someone waiting for me. Take care and get some rest. I'm sure we'll run into each other in the city." Julian extended his hand to shake Amy's and then turned and walked away.

Amy finally realized he had changed and was off the market. Disappointed, she watched him leave and then slowly closed her door.

When Julian got back down to the lobby, he asked one of the bellman to give him a ride down to the villas. Once he arrived at his door, he felt his pockets for his room key and tried to quietly slide it in the door. Upon entering he saw that all of the lights were off and the bedroom door was slightly closed. He took off his shoes and left them in the living room and went straight to the bathroom to take a quick shower. Being out on the beach made him feel sweaty and he didn't want to get in the bed that way. He saw that Joanna was sleeping and tried not to make any noise that would wake her.

Joanna heard Julian fidgeting around but she didn't move or say a word to him. She kept her eyes closed and listened as he closed the bathroom door and turned on the shower. These actions confirmed her worst fears of him having slept with the girl she saw him with and now he's showering before coming to bed. She let out a deep sigh and fought back tears and the urge to get up and confront him. Instead, she laid in the bed and wished for morning to come soon so she could leave.

Julian came out of the shower in his boxers and a t-shirt. He turned off the bathroom light and walked over to the bed. He stood there for a minute looking down at Joanna sleeping. He was still angry at her but not angry enough to sleep on the couch and so he pulled back the covers and slid into the bed with his back turned to Joanna's. He thought about apologizing to her in the morning for leaving and pick up where they left off on their conversation because there was still one question that he didn't get to ask her regarding Will.

A few hours later, Joanna could feel the sunlight on her face and struggled to open her eyes. She looked up at the clock and saw it was 8:45 a.m. which was later than she hoped to wake up but still enough time to make a getaway. As she slowly rose from the bed, she felt a little lightheaded and paused for a moment. She attributed this feeling to getting just a few hours sleep and crying. She stood up and made sure she was balanced and then went to the bathroom to get ready and leave before Julian wakes up. She brushed her teeth, washed her face and combed her hair all in a hurry to rush out the door. Before she exited the bathroom, she gathered all of her personal items and threw them in her overnight bag. She tip-toed to the closet and changed into the outfit she left out of her suitcase and placed her night clothes in the overnight bag. She double checked the closet to make sure she had everything and then quietly stepped out of the room. She took one last look at Julian to make sure he was still in a deep sleep and then she left.

She opened the front door and saw one of the bellman driving by and flagged him down for a ride to the main lobby of the hotel. There were several taxicabs waiting at the front of the hotel and Joanna got into the first one she saw.

"Take me to the airport please." she asked as she loaded her bags in the car.

At the airport, Joanna was able to charge a last minute flight back to New York that was leaving in hour. She checked her items through security and customs and then made her way to the gate to wait for boarding. She stopped at a coffee stand on the way to the gate and purchased a small coffee and a bagel to nimble on. She was feeling all kinds of emotions as she sat waiting to board the flight. Numerous questions were racing through her head and she just wanted everything to be over as quickly as possible. She decided to take as much of her things as she could from Julian's condo and move into a hotel temporarily. Nothing else mattered at the moment she just wanted to get away from Julian and the mess she had made of everything.

As Joanna sat waiting for the flight to board, she remembered that she hadn't read the text from Will. She then took her phone out of her purse and clicked on the message.

_"New lead! Call me as soon as you get back. We need to meet." _

After reading the text, she threw her head back and dropped the phone to her side in disbelief. She sat there thinking to herself that Will knew she was out of town and he could have waited until Monday to send that text so why send it Saturday night? She snapped out of that thought when she heard the passengers being called for boarding. She put away her phone and stopped by a waste basket to throw away what was left of her make shift breakfast and walked to the boarding gate.

Julian turned over and felt the coldness coming from the opposite side of the bed. He lifted his head up to see that Joanna was not there and then turned to his right to saw that the clock on the nightstand read 11:50a.m. He put his head back down on the pillow and figured Joanna was out in the living room. A few minutes later, he sat up, ran his fingers through his hair and then got up from the bed and walked to the bathroom. He walked in, flipped on the light and went over to the toilet and as he was standing there, he noticed that some items were missing from the vanity but didn't really pay attention to it. He flushed the toilet and walked over to the sink to brush his teeth but he also noticed that Joanna's toothbrush was missing. He looked to the left to give the extended part of the vanity and second look and then realized all of Joanna's makeup and other things were gone. He thought maybe she was getting a jumpstart on the packing and so he wasn't really concerned.

After finishing up in the bathroom, he walked over to the closet to find something to wear. It was kind of dark and his eyes were still adjusting to being awake so he turned on the light for a little help. He immediately noticed that Joanna's clothes were missing and when he looked down, he saw the empty space next to his suitcase. A puzzled look came over his face and he stepped out of the closet and looked around the room for other differences and found that there were plenty. Joanna's shoes, perfume and shopping bags were also gone but his things were still where he left them. He opened the bedroom door hoping to see Joanna sitting on the couch but instead his heart sank when he saw that she was not. He strolled across the living room and opened the front door but still Joanna was no where to be found. He raced back to the bedroom to find his phone and tried calling her several times but each call went to voice mail so he tried texting her instead.

_"Where are you and why are your things missing? Call me."_ Julian texted hoping for a quick response.

As he sat on the edge of the bed hoping for a response from Joanna, he couldn't believe that she chose to leave this way and he blamed himself for not hearing her out last night. A few more minutes passed and still no call or text back from her and he decided that couldn't sit around anymore waiting. He the called the concierge and informed him that he would be checking out now and requested a bellman be sent right away to pick him up. Next he called his assistant and asked her to arrange a charter flight from Bimini to New York as soon as possible. He went around the room and collected his things and threw his clothes in his suitcase. He changed into a pair of pants and a casual shirt and then took one last look around the room to make sure he wasn't missing anything. The bellman knocked at the door and Julian rushed over to open it with his suitcase and bag in tow.

"Mr. Bowers, are you ready to go sir?" said the bellman as he took the bags from Julian's hand.

"Yes I think I have everything." Julian said in a hurried tone.

"It's a pity you're leaving us so soon but I hope you enjoyed your stay. I picked up Ms. Padget earlier this morning as I was passing by so I imagine you guys are eager to get back home." said the bellman.

"What time did you pick her up?" Julian asked.

"I think it was about 9:30 or so. She got into a taxi as soon as we pulled up to the front of the hotel." said the bellman.

When they reached the hotel lobby, Julian apologized for the earlier than expected checkout as he signed off on the room charges at the front desk. He had asked the bellman to hold a taxi for him while he checked out. His assistant called him as he was on his way to the airport with a confirmation of a charter flight.

"Hi Laurie, where you able to get a flight for me?" Julian asked.

"Yes Mr. Bowers there are two daytime flights available and one for the evening. The first one is leaving in 45 minutes but it's not totally private because four seats were booked but they have three more seats available. The other one is a private flight that leaves at 2pm and you and Ms. Padget would be the only passengers. Which one would you like me to book?" Laurie asked.

"Book the one leaving in 45 minutes but Ms. Padget is not traveling with me. Please email me the flight information was you're done. I'm on the way to the airport now." said Julian.

"Okay I'll do that now. So Ms. Padget doesn't need a flight?" Laurie asked just to make sure she heard him right.

"No she doesn't. Thank you Laurie. I'll wait for the email." said Julian as he abruptly hung on the phone before Laurie could ask another question.

When the taxi reached the airport, Julian couldn't get out fast enough. He read the flight confirmation email as he raced to the desk for boarding. His bags were checked and he was escorted on to the flight by the flight attendant. He made himself comfortable in his seat and tried to put things into perspective so he would not be as angry when he catches up to Joanna. He figured that she had to be on her way to their condo and he wanted to get there before she had a chance to leave but the three hour flight was making him worry that he would be too late.

It was 3pm when Joanna's flight arrived at JFK airport but sitting for four hours seemed to caused a painful feeling in her back. As she was walking through the airport, the pain felt more intense as of someone had kicked her. She sat down for a few minutes hoping that the pain would subside and then she rose to her feet when she felt a little better. She was able to get a skycap to help with her bags out to the curb and flag down a taxi.

The traffic leading into lower Manhattan was slow at best and Joanna had to move around in the seat so that her back did not stiffen up again. The driver arrived at her building and helped take her bags to the door and the doorman assisted her from there. When she entered the apartment, she went straight to the medicine cabinet to retrieve a bottle of Advil and walked over to the kitchen for a glass of water. She shook out two tablets of the Advil and took them immediately. She decided to sit on the edge of the couch and give the medicine sometime to kick in before she started gathering some of her things to leave with. As she sat there, she looked up rates for various nearby hotels and found one within her price range. She called to make sure there were rooms available and was told that there were and she gave her credit card number to place a hold one. She let some more time pass and then she got up feeling less pain than she did before and proceeded to pack. She reached up towards the top of the closet and took down another suitcase but she started feeling lightheaded again. Worried that Julian may already be on his way, she didn't want to sit down again and pressed on with the packing.

As she was wheeling the suitcase she just filled down the hallway, Joanna felt dizzy and grabbed her head. She stopped in the middle of the hallway still gripping the handle of the suitcase and collapsed.

Laurie scheduled a car service to pick Julian up when he arrived at the airport around 5:15pm. He tried to quickly work his way through security and the baggage claim area and met up with his driver at the exit door. He tried calling Joanna but her phone was still going to voice mail and he had already left several messages. Given the traffic conditions, he asked the driver to take any shortcuts he may know of because he was in a hurry to get home. He knew that if Joanna left, she would make it difficult for him to find her.

He arrived at his building twenty-five minutes later and tipped the driver. The doorman came over to help with his bags as Julian asks him a question.

"Hi Tom, have you seen Ms. Padget today?" asked Julian.

"Yes she came home a couple of hours ago but she hasn't come down since." said Tom as he opened the door for Julian.

Julian responded "thanks" rushed over to the private elevators. When he reached the floor of his condo, he called out Joanna's name as he walked out of the elevator. He placed his bags down next to the wall and as he emerged into the hallway, he saw Joanna laying on the floor next to her suitcase. He rushed over and slid down next to her in an attempt to turn her over.

"Joanna! Joanna!" he screamed as he put his ear to her mouth to check for sounds of breath.

He anxiously held her with one hand and dug his phone out of his pocket with the other and called 911.

"911, what's your emergency?" said operator.

"I just found my girlfriend unconscious and I need an ambulance right away." Julian said as he held on to Joanna.

"Okay sir, where are you located?" the operator asked.

"I'm on the 15th floor of the Blue condo building on Norfolk"

"And what's your name?"

"Julian."

"Okay the ambulance is on the way but I need you stay with me on the phone. Do you know how to check a pulse?"

"Yes, I'm sorry. I – I forgot to mention that I am a doctor but I'm in shock right now finding her like this. She is breathing and her pulse is steady." Julian said as his voice was breaking.

"Is she on any medication or has she been drinking?" the operator asked.

"No, it's nothing like that. She has a slight fever and from what I can see her abdomen is somewhat distended. She was a little ill this weekend, but not like this." Julian said quietly.

"Julian the EMT's are downstairs, can you send down your private elevator so they can get to you?"

"Okay." Julian slowly released Joanna from his grip and walked to the elevator to send it back down and returned to Joanna's side. When the EMT's reached his floor, he thanked the operator for helping him and stepped aside while they worked on Joanna. He stood in disbelief answering some of the same questions the 911 operator had asked him with exception of one other.

"Sir, is she pregnant?" the EMT asked as he examined Joanna.

Julian was stunned by that question and responded doubtfully "No. I don't think so."

"Sir it seems as though she is and may be experiencing a miscarriage. She's bleeding internally and vaginally. Please step back so we can put her on the gurney."

Julian reluctantly moved aside with a puzzled look on his face and he started to replay the events that occurred over the past two days. Putting it altogether in his head, her symptoms did make sense for someone who may be pregnant – but how? They had been careful and he remembered her mentioning her period a few weeks earlier.

As the EMT's were wheeling her onto the elevator, they told Julian he could either ride with them or follow in his car. They also asked him other questions regarding Joanna's health on the way down to the ambulance. Julian chose to ride with the EMT's as they rushed Joanna to the hospital and held her hand along they way. When they arrived, she was wheeled into the emergency room and the doctors and nurses rushed to the gurney. He was feeling frustrated as they questioned him once again but he maintained his composure and felt helpless as they cut her pants off to get to her abdomen.

"Mr. Bowers, is your girlfriend pregnant?" the ER doctor asked.

"Yes, I think so." Julian answered anxiously.

"Were you both aware of this or are you guessing right now?

"I'm guessing but she was experiencing dizziness, headaches, and nausea over the past two days but we both thought it was a hangover, pregnancy wasn't a thought because she has an IUD."

"Okay that's more to go on. Step outside for a few minutes and I'll come talk to you as soon as I can." the doctor said signaling a nurse to take him out of the room.

Julian felt weak and frozen and did not want to leave her side but the nurse came over and escorted him out of the room and took him to a waiting area. He sat with his head buried in his hands feeling like he let Joanna down by brushing of her symptoms as a hangover. The images of their argument also came to mind and it made him angry with his self for storming out on her. The doctor finally came over to him sometime later and explained what they found so far and the next steps.

"Mr. Bowers, she's stable at the moment but she is bleeding internally. Apparently she had ectopic pregnancy which can occur with some IUD users. We're taking her down for a scan now and then off to surgery to stop the bleeding, perform a dilation and cutterage and then repair any damage we find in her uterus. All of this I'm sure you already know but I wanted to reassure you that she'll be fine. You got her just in time so she should be okay after this. A nurse will come over shortly and take you to the waiting room on the surgery floor and you'll get a chance to speak with her surgeon." the doctor explained.

Julian breathed a sigh of relief, thanked the doctor and sat back down to replay everything the doctor just told him in his head. He pulled out his phone to call the one other person he could trust other than Joanna.

He ran his fingers through his hair as he waited for an answer on the other end of his call.

"Hey Julian! What's up?" the person answered in a bubbly tone.

"Mia, I need your help."


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the delay everyone but I had an important project to complete for my job and it took up all of my time. Any who, here's the latest chapter and I am already at work on the next.**

**As always, thanks for reading. Enjoy!**

"Julian!" Mia said rushing towards him. "What's going on? Where's Joanna?"

Julian slowly rose to greet Mia as she hurried to his side. "She's in the recovery room right now. Were you able to leave without telling Sophia and dad where you were going?"

"Yeah…I just told them Kyle and I were going to the movies. Julian what's happening?" said Mia in a concerned but confused tone.

Julian sat back down and invited Mia to sit with him. He motioned to Kyle for alone time with her so he could explain what was going on. As he was about to speak, he felt a lump in throat and his heartbeat increase and thought where should he begin. He leaned forward and cupped his face in his hands and slowly began to speak.

"We were in the Bahamas and everything was great until last night. We got into a big argument and I left her in the room and I didn't come back until really late but when I got up in the morning she was gone. By the time I figured out she was on her way back here, I think she was already three or four hours ahead of me. I got home about 5:30 and found her on the floor unconscious and it's just been surreal to me ever since."

Mia consoled Julian as he spoke running her hand up and down his back. Vivian's funeral was the only time she had ever seen Julian's eyes filled with so much hurt as they are now while explaining what happened to Joanna.

"So what are the doctors saying? Did they tell you what's wrong and if she'll be okay?" Mia asked while trying to hold back tears.

"She had a miscarriage but we didn't know she was pregnant in the first place. The baby was developing in the wrong place and the result was the miscarriage but a very painful one and it caused her to hemorrhage. She wasn't feeling well over the past few days but I thought it was a hangover from the night before. I'm so dumb. I'm a doctor so how did I miss that? This is my fault." Julian hung his head low angry with him self for not paying more attention to Joanna's symptoms.

"You both didn't know so how can you blame yourself? She's going to be fine. What matters is that you got there in time so don't beat yourself up like this." Mia said as she tried to comfort Julian.

"I just keep thinking about Edward and how he lost Samantha. I don't think I could handle it if I lost Joanna."

"But you didn't lose her and you're not going to so stop thinking like that." Mia pleaded.

The surgeon approached them a short time later with an update on Joanna.

"Mr. Bowers?" the surgeon asked as he approached Julian.

"Yes, how is she." Julian asked anxiously as the doctor extended his hand to shake Julian's.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Rosen. I operated on Ms. Padget and everything went well. We did a dilation & cutterage which stopped the bleeding into her abdomen. There was only minor damage to her left fallopian tube which we repaired and going forth she should be fine. She lost a lot of blood but she got here in time before it got worse. She's in the recovery room now and she's stable and somewhat responsive but she is also weak. The nurse will come get you when she's being transferred to her room but for now just sit tight knowing that everything is fine now."

"Thank you Dr. Rosen." Julian said as he sat back down next to Mia. He then leaned his head down on her shoulder and Mia wrapped her arm around him. She looked up to see Kyle walking towards them holding drinks he purchased from the café.

"Any word yet." Kyle said as he handed a latte to Mia.

"The doctor just came over and said everything went well and she should be in a room soon." said Mia.

"Cool. I'm glad she's alright." As Kyle was speaking, he offered the other cup to Julian but he declined it. He turned at sat down across from Mia and Julian and watched as she comforted her brother. Being from a broken family, he never really knew what it was like to have someone care for him in that way and at times he feels as though he is not worthy of Mia's love. And although he has tried to leave her alone instead of hurting and betraying her, he can't because he has fallen in love with her.

Almost an hour had passed when finally a nurse came over to tell them what room Joanna was being transferred to. She handed Julian a clear plastic bag that contained some of her clothing and jewelry that was removed when she was being prepped for surgery.

"Thank you. Is she going to a private room as I requested?" Julian asked the nurse as she turned to leave.

"Yes Mr. Bowers. Room 419 is a private room." the nurse said.

" Come on Julian. We can meet them up on the floor when they're bringing her into her room," said Mia as she reached up and put her hand on Julian's shoulder.

Mia handed Kyle her empty cup and he put in the garbage along with his.

"Mia, I don't want to intrude so I'll wait here. Just come and get me when you are ready to leave." Kyle said as he stood by the elevator door with Mia and Julian.

"Are you sure? At least come up with us to the 4th floor and wait there instead." Mia said puzzled that Kyle wanted to remain behind.

"No go on up with your brother I'll be fine here. Just come get me when you're done." said Kyle.

Mia wasn't certain why Kyle felt he should stay behind but she didn't want to push him either so she reluctantly agreed and boarded the elevator with Julian. Kyle walked back over to the surgery waiting room and took a seat. It was partially empty and the television was set to a sports channel so he had all that he needed to keep him company while he waited for Mia to return.

They arrived at the room just as Joanna was being wheeled inside. Julian looked over to see if she was awake but her eyes were barely opened. The nurse was talking to her as she and the assistant locked her bed in place.

"Ms. Padget you're in your room now and you have company. Are you feeling any pain or discomfort?" the nurse asked.

Still somewhat sedated from the anesthesia, Joanna found it hard to verbally answer her so she slowly shook her head no. She looked briefly to her right and saw Julian and Mia entering the room and she was relieved to see familiar faces. As Julian came closer, she saw the worried expression on his face and she tried her best to lift her hand to him but it felt as if a fifty pound weight was holding it down but he grabbed on to it when he reached the bed.

Julian bent down and kissed her on her forehead and stroked her hair. He could hardly contain his relief at seeing her eyes open once again.

"Welcome back." Julian whispered as he leaned closer to her.

"Hey." Joanna said in a barely audible tone.

"Move over. I want to see her too." Mia said as she nudged Julian out of the way. She looked down at Joanna with a huge smile on her face as she was glad to see that she was okay.

"Hey you, don't ever scare me like that again." Mia told Joanna and they both smiled at each other.

The nurse returned to the room with another blanket and asked them to step aside so she could tuck Joanna in with it.

"Ms. Padget, I'm going to place this warm blanket on you to help regulate your body temperature and make it more comfortable for you to sleep. Do you need anything else right now? Do you feel like you need to use the bathroom?" the nurse asked as she placed and tucked the blanket around Joanna.

Joanna thought for a moment and said no a whispered tone. The nurse then turned to Mia and Julian to remind them of visiting hours.

"As for you two, even though this is a private room, only one of you can stay overnight. Visiting hours will be over in about 15 minutes so please decide who's staying and let me know so I can bring another blanket and pillow. My name is Donna and I'm Ms. Padget's nurse tonight. This button is how you reach me when you come to a decision. She still has anesthesia in her system so she'll be drifting off to sleep at anytime and we ask that you keep the noise level to a minimum and allow her to rest." the nurse said as she worked her way around the room making sure that everything was in place and working properly.

Julian turned to the nurse as she was signing Joanna's chart and said "I'm staying with her."

"Alright I'll bring you a pillow and blanket and this couch folds out to become a bed. We also have little overnight kits with a toothbrush and other things unless you brought your own." said the nurse.

"That will be fine - thank you." said Julian.

As she was walking out of the door, the nurse looked down at her watch and noted the time. "Miss, you have about 10 minutes left and then I'm afraid you will have to leave for the evening."

"Okay, I will." Mia said with a sarcastic smile. She turned back to Joanna, rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I guess have to leave now before your nurse kicks me out but I'll be back tomorrow to check on you." Mia bent down to give Joanna a hug and whispered in her ear, "Get some rest."

"I'll be right back." Julian said to Joanna as he walked Mia to the door.

"See Julian, she's fine. You guys can work on that other stuff later. What's going on now is more important." Mia said to Julian in a reassuring tone.

"I know. Do me a favor though. Don't tell dad or Sophia about this. We're both due in the office tomorrow afternoon but I'll figure out something to tell him until she's released." Julian asked.

"No problem. I wasn't going to tell them anyway." Said Mia.

As they waited for the elevator, Julian kissed Mia on the cheek and thanked her for being there for him. "Go straight home young lady and I'll call you in about an hour. I love you."

Mia loving punched Julian on his forearm before stepping into the elevator. "I love you too now go take care of our girl and get some sleep."

On the ride down to the second floor to meet Kyle, she sent him a text message to let him know she was on the way. Kyle was on his phone when he received it and told the person he was talking to to hold on while he read it.

"Gotta go. She's on her way back to me now." Kyle said in a rushed tone.

"No more excuses Kyle. I'll give you another week to find out what else is in that house besides jewelry. Rich people like that usually have a safe or something where they keep a lot cash so find it! And if you can't do this job, I'll get somebody else who will. Do you understand me?" the person on the phone threatened.

Kyle looked up and saw Mia quickly approaching him. "I'll get it done." he said as he pressed the end button on his phone.

"Ready?" asked Kyle.

"Yeah let's go. Who were you talking to? You seem a little upset." asked Mia.

"Just a buddy of mine that wanted to hang out but has a hard time accepting for an answer. It's no big deal." said Kyle as her put his arm around Mia's neck.

"How's Joanna?" Kyle asked in an effort to change the subject.

"She's kind of out it but she'll be fine. Julian is staying with her tonight." said Mia as they walked back to the elevator.

Julian stopped by the nurse's station before going back to Joanna's room. He realized that he didn't have a change of clothes and wanted to ask nurse Donna if it was alright for him to leave and come back in a hour.

"Unfortunately Mr. Bowers if you leave now, security wouldn't let you back up since visiting hours are almost over. But I think I can find something for you to sleep in if you don't mind." said the nurse.

"Sure I'll take just about anything right now." said Julian.

"Give me a few minutes and I'll bring it to the room for you." said the nurse.

"Okay thanks." said Julian as he turned and walked towards the room. He quietly opened the door just in case Joanna had already fallen asleep and when he stepped in, he saw that she indeed was sleeping. He went over to her and pulled the blanket up a little more to make sure she was adequately covered. He stopped and looked down at her sleeping peacefully and smiled. He was grateful that things did not turn out worse as they could have been and he felt like a lucky man. He kissed Joanna's lips and gently stroked her cheek and softly said "goodnight."

The nurse walked in a few minutes and handed him a pair of blue surgery scrub bottoms.

"This is the best I could find seeing as though we don't stock regular pajamas in the hospital. There are towels in the bathroom and the extra pillow and blanket are here but if you need anything else just let me know. I'm here until 7am."

Julian unfolded the scrub pants and smiled. They reminded him of his residency years when scrubs were his normal attire 24 hours a day.

"These are perfect. Thank you for everything." Julian said in appreciative tone.

After the nurse left, Julian turned down the television to a faint whisper and went into bathroom for a quick shower. It was smaller than what he was used to and it took a little time for the water to warm up but he didn't mind. He just wanted to get some sleep and put the horrible events of the day out of his mind. He emerged from the bathroom wearing the scrub pants and his undershirt but the room temperature was extremely cold. He immediately reached for the blanket and wrapped it around his shoulders and stepped to over to the bed to check on Joanna and took note of her vitals and IV bag. He wanted to make sure all was well with her before laying down himself.

He bent down and gave her one last kiss, turned off the t.v. and laid down for some needed rest. He sent Mia a text a message asking if she was home and she quickly responded _"yes". _He laid his phone down on the small table beside him and snuggled his head against the pillow and before he knew it, he drifted off to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Joanna slept for what felt like forever and when she finally opened her eyes, she was met with unfamiliar surroundings. She tried to lift head but it felt heavy. She turned her head to the right and she saw Julian sleeping on a couch across from her and when she turned to the left, she saw a monitor and an IV pole beside her. That's when she realized that she was in a hospital again but this time it wasn't for bumps and bruises. She carefully moved her left arm as to not pullout the IV line hanging from it and she ran her fingers through her hair. She was baffled as to why she was in the hospital this time and the only thing she remembers from the day before was being in the apartment and moving things around.

She turned her head to the right again and looked at Julian wondering how long had they been here and what exactly was going on. Her mouth was extremely dry but the water jug was too far away and she really didn't want to wake Julian but she had no choice.

"Julian." she whispered in a groggy voice.

He didn't stir the first time so she called him again but this time a little louder being that he is a deep sleeper.

"Julian." she said more audibly.

He must have heard her that time because he moved but did not fully wake up so she gave it one more try.

"Julian!" said a little louder.

Startled, he lifted his head and opened eyes to see her turned slightly towards him from her bed. She was smiling because of his reaction and he stared at her for a moment just happy to see her awake and of course her beautiful smile.

"Hey, are you okay?" Julian asked as her turned to sit up in the couch.

Her mouth was so dry it was hard for her to respond so she pointed to the pink water jug that was out of her reach.

Julian looked at the jug and then looked back at her and laughed. "Your mouth is dry huh?"

"Extremely." Joanna responded.

Julian got up and poured some water into a plastic cup and brought it over to Joanna. As he was walking towards her she whispered, "Bring the jug."

"Anesthesia does leave some people feeling thirsty so I better ask for another jug."

He walked over and handed the cup to Joanna and watched as she drank it in what seemed like less than two seconds and then he poured another cup. In all she drank five cups of water until she was satisfied. Julian then helped her get more comfortable in the bed and raised it up so that she was in an upright position. He leaned down to get closer to her face and said, "Is this better?"

Joanna gave him a 'yes' nod and then he kissed her on her forehead. She gave him an inquisitive look and then asked the obvious question.

"So how did I get her? What happened because right now I don't remember anything."

Julian's facial expression turned to a serious one at that moment as he was about to recount his worst nightmare from the events of the day before.

"Well, after you ran away from me in Bimini and flew back here, you collapsed in our apartment and was bleeding heavily. Luckily I left as soon as I realized you were gone and I must have gotten there about two hours after you did or else…you may have died." Julian explained in a cautious tone.

"Died from what? I thought I had a stomach virus or something. So what was it?" Joanna asked.

Julian took a deep breath and looked directly at Joanna as he responded. "You were pregnant."

"What? No. That can't be. We've been careful. I've been careful." Joanna said in disbelief.

"Apparently your IUD slipped, which can happen, and you had an ectopic pregnancy in one of your tubes – I think it was the left. That's why you were feeling ill while we were in Bimini. What I thought was possibly a hangover was actually pregnancy symptoms. The doctor said you were about 6 weeks pregnant but the miscarriage was inevitable. What you thought was your period a few weeks back was really spotting and that's why you, well we, had no clue. You passed out due to the blood loss and they operated on you as soon as you got here. The surgeon said that you got here just in time everything went well during the surgery and you should be fine going forth." Julian was relieved to get through that explanation as it was something he did not want to relive ever.

Joanna remained motionless as she tried to process everything Julian had just told her. How could she have missed something so important going on with her own body? Was she that preoccupied with the case that she almost died? She found herself not knowing how to respond to all she had heard. Then the room door opened and a slightly older gentlemen dressed in green scrubs came in accompanied by a nurse. She knew instantly that he must be the doctor that attended to her.

"Good morning Ms. Padget. Glad to see that you're up. I'm Dr. Rosen and I performed surgery on you yesterday. How are you feeling this morning?" the doctor said as he extended his hand to Joanna.

"I'm feeling okay but very thirsty."

"Any pain at all?"

"No not really just a little uncomfortable."

"That's expected." Dr. Rosen then turned to Julian. "Did you explain what happened to her yesterday?'

"Yes, we were just talking about it." said Julian.

Dr. Rosen then turned back to Joanna. "So you're aware that you had a severe miscarriage. The good news is you got here in time and we were able to stop the internal bleeding, clear your uterus and repair your left fallopian tube. The surgery went as expected and you shouldn't have any problems in the future conceiving, if you choose to. Now we'll keep you here one more day for observation and if all goes well, I'll release you tomorrow and then I recommend bed rest for a week and then you can return to work and normal activities. We did remove your IUD so will have to have another one implanted by your regular gynecologist in about four to six weeks after you have healed. Do you have any questions for me?"

Joanna thought for a moment. "No I guess I understand what happened now and why I felt the way I did over the past few days. Thank you Dr. Rosen."

"Have a good day and I will see you tomorrow to evaluate your discharge. In the meantime, just let the nurse know if you are experiencing any pain or more discomfort than you are now." He then turned to Julian and shook his hand. "Nice meeting you Dr. Bowers and good luck on the continued drug research."

"Thanks Dr. Rosen."

The doctor exited the room but the nurse stayed behind to attend to Joanna and record her vitals. Julian took the opportunity to go in the bathroom and brush his teeth and wash his face. In the midst of that, he remembered that he needed to give his father a call to let him know they wouldn't be in this afternoon but first, he had to come up with a coverall excuse without telling his dad exactly what happened. He also realized that he needed a change of clothes so he put back on the ones from the day before and stepped out of the bathroom. The nurse was just finishing up with Joanna and asked her what she wanted for breakfast. She also asked Julian the same thing but he opted to get something on his own instead.

After the nurse left the room, Julian went over to Joanna. "Still taking everything in? I know it's a lot but it could have been worse and thank God it wasn't."

"I know I just feel weird not knowing that I was pregnant and I don't understand how I missed that." Joanna said in a bewildered tone.

Julian sat down next to Joanna on the bed. He could see the confusion and hurt in her eyes but he didn't know how to make it better for her because he was feeling the same way. He reached up and caressed her cheek while looking deep into her eyes.

"We'll get through this – together."

"What about everything else? The investigation. The lies and now this. I feel like everything is screwed up right now and I don't see how I can see this case through let alone fix what's wrong between us."

"What's wrong with us Joanna?"

"Julian how can you trust me now? How can I trust you? I went looking for you after you left and I saw you at the bar with some girl and then you didn't come back until almost morning which means you probably slept with her."

"Joanna!? What…? How….? You think I slept with her? Is that why you left in the morning?" Julian shook his head and leaned back a little.

"Look at me." Joanna reluctantly looked up at Julian.

"I did not sleep with her. As long we are together, I'm not sleeping with anyone else but you. Yes, I was mad at you. No, I was pissed off at you and I left because I needed to cool off and think. That's what I do Joanna. I leave when I'm mad to avoid saying or doing things I may regret and I know in the past, when we were younger, that usually meant I ended up with some girl but it's different now and that's the past. She wasn't some random girl either. I actually know her from the Manhattan party scene and we have mutual friends but nothing happened between us that night or any night. And to be honest, I did walk her to her room but only because she was a little drunk and that's it Nothing happened Joanna." Julian spoke sternly while looking directly at Joanna.

His bad boy ways of the past came back to haunt him in that moment but he stood firm with Joanna letting her know that he has changed. The last thing he wants to happen is to lose her again after spending almost 20 years apart.

Joanna studied his face and listened intently as he made his response clear. She realized that he wasn't lying and it made her feel worse about the lie had she kept for so long. She broke their gaze by dropping her head while she gathered her thoughts for a response.

"Julian, I don't know what to think anymore. I didn't want you to find out about me that way and seeing you with some else made me feel like I was wrong about everything."

Julian raised his hand and placed it on Joanna's mouth. He wasn't sure what she was going to say next but he was sure it would be something he did not want to hear.

"Joanna stop. Let's forget about this for right now and continue this conversation after you come home. That's all I'm concerned about right now is you getting better and coming home. We can and will work everything else out but for now, let's just leave it alone, okay?"

Joanna stared back at Julian as he looked deep into her eyes. He wasn't smiling and the serious look he was giving her instead let her know that it's best to drop it for now. She nodded her head in agreement and he stood up and fixed the blanket that was covering her. She watched him as he walked over to the couch he was sleeping on to gather his things.

"Are you leaving?" Joanna said with a hint of dismay in her voice.

"Yes. I need to go to the apartment and get us some clothes and other items. I won't be long." Julian said without turning around to look at her. He could feel his phone vibrating in his pocket but he had feeling he already knew who was calling. It was Robert as expected but he let the call go to voice mail and decided that he will call him back when he left the room.

Confirming that he had everything he needed before leaving, he walked over to Joanna and kissed her. "Do you want to bring back anything in particular from the apartment?"

Joanna thought for a moment and realized there was something she needed.

"I need my phone unless it's here somewhere."

"No, it wasn't on you when they brought you in but I'm sure I'll find it when I get home." Julian walks towards the door to leave as Joanna watches. Once he is out the door, he take's out his phone and redials his father's number.

'Julian! How are you? I trust that you're back here in New York?" Robert said cheerfully.

"Good morning dad and yes we're back in town." Julian responded.

"Great so you'll be on time for the board meeting at 2pm."

"Meeting?"

"Yes, have you forgotten? The board is meeting today to discuss the progress on T138-L and the latest clinical trial results. How could you forget about our next blockbuster drug?"

Julian had in fact forgotten about the meeting even though his assistant emailed him a reminder and the talking points for the meeting. There was so much going on with Joanna that everything else was irrelevant for the moment.

"I'm sorry dad. I'll be there at 2p but Joanna won't be in today or the rest of the week."

Robert paused for a second before responding. He had already come to the conclusion that Joanna was causing Julian to lose focus on what's important and especially the family business. "And what's the reason for her absence?"

Julian knew he couldn't tell Robert the truth so he quickly came up with a response. "We got in last night but she was feeling ill during the flight. I was worried so I took straight to the hospital when we left the airport. They said she had food poisoning and was dehydrated so they admitted her and put her on IV fluids and observation. She'll probably be released tomorrow but the doctor wants her in bed for the rest of the week."

Robert listened intently on the other end of the phone as Julian explained what was going on with Joanna.

"Why didn't you call me last night son?"

"Honestly Joanna was the only thing on my mind last night. She was very ill and I had to rush to the emergency room before things got worse."

"Are you telling the whole story or is there more to this?"

"What do you mean dad?"

"It's just that it's always something with her and it draws your attention from everything else. You have to stay focused Julian. Look at how things turned out with Audrey. Do you really think now is the time for a serious relationship?"

"When have I ever had a serious relationship or been serious about anything besides Lyritrol? Joanna is not in my way at all in fact she keeps me focused and happy so if something is wrong with her, then yes, my attention will be all on her until it is resolved. Look I'm not going to discuss or get your approval of my relationship with my girlfriend from you. I'll be there for the meeting at 2p and that's all you need to know right now." Julian abruptly hung up the phone on Robert before he could respond.

Robert finally had enough of dancing around the "Joanna issue" for the sake of Julian. He is determined to find out what she's up to and the real reason she is back in their lives.

Julian hails a taxi outside of the hospital to take him home and he utilizes the time in the back seat to decompress after the upsetting phone call with his father. He's usually suspicious of everyone but having Joanna on his radar has Julian fearing he will find out she's investigating Vivian's death. He takes out his phone and give Edward a call.

"Julian you better not be calling me to say you're not coming to the meeting today." Edward said before Julian could say hello on the other end.

"I'll be there Eddie. Are you in the office already?"

"Almost why? Do you need something?"

"Can you swing my place? I need to talk to you."

"Sure, is everything okay man?" Edward was concerned. Julian rarely asks him for help or advice so his request took him by surprise.

"I'll explain when you get here."

"Alright. I can be there in about 20 minutes."

"Thanks." Julian paid his fair and walked out of the taxi and headed towards the entrance of his building. The door man held the door open for him and asked about Joanna as he walked in.

"Good to see you Mr. Bowers. How is Ms. Padget?" he asked as Julian walked by.

"She's doing much better. Thanks for asking." Julian said as he hastily walked towards the elevator. He didn't mean to be rude but he didn't want to talk about it either.

He almost didn't recognize the apartment as he walked in. The remnants of empty medical supplies left behind by the paramedics served as reminders of the day before and how he found Joanna unconscious. He quickly bent down and cleaned up some of the mess and moved her suitcases back to the bedroom. He cleaned up as much as he could before Edward arrived because although he wanted to talk to him, he didn't intend on telling him everything.

At the hospital, Joanna was lost deep in thought. She started recounting everything that has happened since the day she arrived for Vivian's funeral. Despite the initial conclusions she and Will had originally thought solved the case, they were still no closer to catching the real killer almost seven months later. Three people have died, her cover is essentially blown and it's only a matter of time before Robert figures everything out. She starts to think maybe her presence is more of a hindrance than an asset and Will was probably right when he told her to leave a few months ago. She needed time to think about everything and maybe going home to California for a little while would help. She could check on her mom and put some space between her and Julian temporarily to decide if this is what she really wants. He's been so good to her despite everything but now the guilt and uncertainty is getting the best of her. She needed time alone.


	8. The Reason for My Hiatus

Hello Everyone!

My apologies to everyone for not updating lately but I have been on the road for work almost a month and living out of my suitcase. I'm home now and I will start work on the next chapter as soon as possible but right now I'm just trying to relax and catch up on a few other things but rest assured the next chapter will be posted very soon.

Thanks to everyone for reading and following the story and also for the wonderful reviews and checking in on me as well. I was able to jot down portions of the next chapter during meetings so I hope you all enjoy what's coming up for our favorite couple.

Also if you're an ABC Castle fan, I may be posting an "Esplaine" fanfic within the next couple of weeks so be on the lookout for that as well.


	9. Chapter 9

**_Hello everyone. My apologies for the long delay between chapters but my day job has kept me super busy over the past few weeks. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and don't worry I have another one coming up shortly. _**

"Julian!" Edward called out as he exited the elevator to Julian's apartment. He walked

towards the living room looking for Julian and notices that things seem out of place which was unusual.

Julian came around the corner and greeted Edward. He was in the bedroom changing his clothes and getting some things together for the hospital when he heard Edward calling him.

"Thanks for coming by. You want some coffee" Julian said.

"No. But what the hell happened here? I've never seen your place like this. Where's Joanna?" Edward said as he walked toward the couch and sat down.

"Have you talked to dad yet?"

"No, why?"

"Just wondering. I got into a little argument with him this morning."

"About?"

"The meeting today which I almost forgot about and my relationship with Joanna. He feels I'm "distracted" and losing sight of what's important. Which is why I wanted to talk to you. How did you get him to back off Samantha and stay out of your marriage?"

Edward laughs to himself and looks at Julian in disbelief. "You actually think he stopped harassing me about my wife or accepted my marriage?

"I know he always had something to say especially when you guys would argue but it seemed like he stayed out of it for the most part."

"Not at all. He never liked her he just adjusted to her and accepted her as the mother of his grandchildren but nothing more. If he had it his way, I would have never gotten married until he hand picked my wife for me. Anyway, what's this about? Is he threatening Joanna?"

"No but he's trying to convince me to leave her. He thinks she's on some secret mission to make a fool out of me and our family and no matter what I say, he just dismisses it. So how do I get him to back off completely?"

Edward looks up at his brother and in that moment he realizes that Julian is truly in love with Joanna. He's never seen him stressed in any way over a woman but in this case it was definitely clear and although he was still working through his own grief of losing his wife, he also suspects his father had a lot to do with her death but he didn't want to tell Julian that.

"Julian listen, I suspected Joanna of a lot of things when she first came back but I was more mad at her for leaving in the first place and not thinking otherwise. The thing with dad may be one of two things. He's either trying to keep you in line so your only focus is the family business or he has something on her that he's not telling you but it may not be concrete and just based on his suspicion. My advice to you is get to her first and find out if she's hiding something because if she is, he's not going to stop until he finds out what it is. But above all, keep them apart. I was never really a fan of her working for him any way because I know how he uses people, especially women. He says he considers her to be like a daughter to him but look where that got his own daughter; six feet under."

Julian was somewhat surprised at Edward's advice. Through it he heard hints of fear and anger but he also realized the Edward suspects their father may be responsible for Samantha's death and the reality of what he is dealing with.

"Do you think dad had Samatha killed?' Julian asked as he looked squarely into Edward's eyes.

Edward chose his words carefully as he responded.

"I think whoever killed Samantha did so mistakenly because that bullet was meant for me. Whoever gave the order to kill me knew my wife and kids were not with me but her death may have that person believing I'm where they want me now but that's far from the truth."

"So because of the Lyritol scandal, you think "someone" ordered a hit on you?"

Edward rose from his seat and picked up his jacket and as he put it on he gave Julian his final remarks to the question.

"I will find the person killed my wife and they will pay for it but you need to make sure that you never find yourself in my position."

Julian stood almost dumbfounded realizing how it never crossed his mind that maybe his father had something to do with Samantha's death. He was also struck by something else his brother said.

"Wait, one last thing. Why are you mad at Joanna?"

"I was mad at her when she showed up for the funeral out of the blue. I felt like maybe a lot of this stuff wouldn't have happened if she stayed around 20 years ago. I know leaving wasn't her idea but why didn't she come back when she was older and didn't need her mother's permission? Vivian needed a friend and she was the best one she ever had growing up. We all loved her and I thought she loved us too so I kept thinking why didn't she come back sooner. But then I realized she may have come back just in time for the rest of us. Mia is not as bratty and rebellious anymore and she's actually going to school. You're not high and in the tabloids everyday and Samantha had something she didn't have in a long time – a real friend. So I'm not mad at her anymore, I'm grateful and my kids love her too. So do whatever you have to do to protect her and keep her with you. If I would have done that, I would still have my wife."

Edward then turned and walked toward the elevator to leave. Julian heard his brother loud and clear and knowing what he knows about Joanna, protecting her is the only option going forth.

Joanna was staring blankly up at the t.v. when her attention turned to her room door opening. Mia came bouncing in dressed in her school uniform with a bag of food and a smile on her face.

"Well you're looking better today!" Mia chimed as she came closer to Joanna and pulled up a chair.

"Hey, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in class?" Joanna was happy to see her but also concerned that she may be skipping class.

"Relax I'm on my lunch break and I decided to come see you. My school is not that far away you know. And I brought us lunch. Chili dogs and fries from Harry's lunch truck."

Joanna's face lit up at the sound of chili dogs from Harry's. She and Vivian lived for that food truck when they were in school.

"Oh my god, Harry is still there? Wow, Vivian and I went there almost everyday."

Mia unwrapped their lunch and set Joanna's on the tray in front of her. They enjoyed their chili dogs and talked so long that Mia lost track of time.

"Oh no I've got to go. I'm definitely late for my next class."

"Yeah you better get going and thanks for lunch, it was great."

"I may stop by after school or call you instead and tell Julian the same. I wanted to talk to you about something else but it can wait until later."

"Are you sure? Is everything okay?"

"No everything is fine I'm just a little confused in the boyfriend department but like I said, it can wait."

Mia gathered her things and began to walk quickly to the door but Joanna was still concerned.

"I'll have my phone when Julian gets back later so call me before coming by because I may get discharged today or tomorrow morning. But either way, call me when you're ready to talk about it."

They smiled at each other from across the room as Mia had her hand on the door handle to leave.

"I will now get some rest. Bye."

As Mia walked out the door, the telephone rang beside Joanna's bed.

"Hello?"

"Hey it's me. I'm sorry I left like that I was just a little stressed. How's it going there? Has the doctor come in yet?"

Joanna smiled a little at the sound of Julian's voice. He had been gone for a few hours which was longer than she than she expected him to be.

"I'm fine and no the doctor hasn't come in yet but where are you? I thought you were coming back soon?"

"I know but I forgot about the meeting today at the office and I have to be there. I was cleaning up a little and getting dressed. I have your phone and I'll bring some clothes for you but do anything else while I'm here?"

Joanna thought for a moment. Her phone was the most important thing she could think of knowing that Will has probably called her by now.

Umm…no what you're bringing is fine. I really don't need anything else and I'm confident about getting out of here tomorrow so the less the better. What time do you think you'll be back?"

"I'll swing by and drop off these things in half an hour. I'm not sure how long the meeting will be but I'll come back as soon as it's over."

"Okay I'll see you in a bit then." As Joanna hung up the phone she was relieved to know that Julian can't stay when he brings her cell phone. She was worried about how to explain to him that she needed to talk to Will because undoubtedly he has called more than once or twice by now.

The car pulls up to the hospital entrance and Julian rushes towards the elevator. He's stopped by the security guard for ID but he flashes the visitor card he had since her admission and the guard lets him go on to the elevator. He's running late and but he promised Joanna he would drop this stuff off on his way.

The elevator was slightly crowded with three stops lit up on the dial before he reaches her floor and the ride seemed like an eternity.

As he pushed open Joanna's room door, he saw a nurse helping her out of the bed. Joanna looked up and saw him dressed in his dark gray Tom Ford suit which was one of her favorites and the fact that he hates to wear ties makes him look even sexier in it.

They both exchanged looks of wonder with each other but Julian was the first to speak.

"What's going on?" Julian asked the nurse while looking at Joanna.

"Ms. Padgett has to go for a pelvic ultrasound and then for a walk to make sure she's coming along as she should before the doctor can okay her discharge." said the nurse as she helped Joanna into the wheelchair.

"Oh, okay. I'll put these things away but I have to rush out. Are you fine without me?"

"Yeah, go. You can't miss that meeting. Don't worry I'm in good hands."

Julian paused for a moment and then bent down and kissed Joanna on the forehead. He then walked over and put her clothes in an empty draw next to her bed and then placed her phone next to the one bedside the bed. He walked with them out to the elevator and they rode down together but Joanna and the nurse got off on the third floor.

"I'll call you on my way back. Love you." Julian said as they exited the elevator.

Joanna waived as the elevator door closed. Julian felt bad for not being there but he knew she understood why.

The nurse made small talk as she wheeled Joanna down the hall.

"Well you sure have your hands full. That's one good looking man and he's completely in love with you." the nurse teased.

Joanna smiled not wanting to say too much. "He's okay." she replied and then tried to change the subject.

"So if this test goes well I can go home in the morning?"

"Yes they just want to make sure you're healing properly and there's no bleeding or anything."

Julian arrived at the office five minutes before the meeting started and his father met him at the conference room door with four other men he didn't recognize.

"Julian my boy, you're just in time. This is the new research team from Thailand that I told you about. They're joining us now that we're in the last few phases of the drug trial."

Julian shook their hands as Robert introduced the men one by one. They entered the room and began the meeting which went on for almost three hours. Julian zoned out a couple of times to mentally revisit the conversations he had today with Joanna and Edward. He refocused on his surroundings when his father asked him a question.

"So Julian, do you want to share with the board your objectives for the Thailand trip and what you expect to see come out of the next clinical trials."

Julian glared at his dad. He forgot to read over the talking points Lauren prepared for him and furthermore, he didn't agree to go to Thailand yet. He looked down at his notes and was able to wing a response but did not comment on the Thailand trip which Robert picked up on. When the meeting was over, Robert motioned for Julian to stay in the room.

"What's going with you? You're usually prepared for these meetings. Oh wait I forgot, your girlfriend is more important lately." Robert said as he angrily walked towards Julian.

"He we go again. Leave Joanna out of this! I was running late and didn't get a chance to go over my notes but I knew what I was saying when I addressed everyone so get over it!"

Julian turned and walked to the door in an effort to quickly get away from Robert.

"You do know the Thailand trip is in a few weeks and you have to be there so I hope your girlfriend doesn't conveniently have another crisis by then." said Robert in a cunning tone.

Julian wanted to turn around and respond to his father but he decided not to. Instead he walked out and called his driver to meet him downstairs.

After leaving several messages, Will finally returns Joanna's phone call and she could hear the disgust in his voice.

"Where are you?!" Will questioned as soon as Joanna answered her phone.

"I'm in the hospital, didn't you listen to your voicemail?"

"Yes but you didn't say what hospital. Look Joanna, we're gonna have to talk about everything. This case has to be your number one priority but it seems like you've been compromised one too many times. This is why I wanted you off it in the first place."

Joanna listened as Will vented his frustration with her and as usual, he was thinking about the case and not her well being. She started to suspect a few months ago that his real intentions for bringing her were selfish ones on his part. He wanted to solve a big case and take all of the credit for it and then send her on her way. It was no different when they were partners in San Francisco. They made a big arrest, he got most of the credit and the next thing she knew, he was off to the FBI.

"We can discuss making that happen. I'll be out of here tomorrow so maybe we can meet tomorrow evening and take it from there."

Will stayed silent for a moment. Every time he threatened to take her off the case in the past she protested so this response was unexpected.

"Fine. Call me and we'll meet tomorrow." Will hung up the phone before Joanna could respond. If she leaves the case, they go back to square one and he wondered why he wasted his time with her in the first place.

Julian walked in as Joanna was putting her phone down. He could tell that she was upset by the expression on her face.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"What do you mean nothing? You look upset. Was that my dad?"

"No. No ….why would he call now?" Joanna then hesitated as she remembered that she hadn't told Julian everything about the investigation including the fact that Will is actually who she's working with.

"It's just that my boss was yelling at me because I hadn't checked in since last Friday so I have to meet with him tomorrow."

"Did you tell him you're in the hospital?"

Joanna hated this but she had to lie because she knows how Julian would react.

"No I avoided that because he would feel I've been compromised but I'll smooth every thing over with him tomorrow."

"Do you think you'll be feeling well enough to meet with him?"

"Yeah I think so. I'm not really in pain and the doctor said the ultrasound looks good."

"Okay. Whatever you need to do but I wish you could go home tonight though."

"I know but he said one more night of observation and then home in the morning. You look kind of stressed yourself, how was the meeting?"

He didn't want to tell her about the argument with his dad so he put it on the Thailand trip instead.

"I wanted to postpone the trip to the Thailand office but I couldn't and we got into a disagreement about it."

"That's next month right?"

"Yes and I'll be there for three weeks."

"So why don't you want to go?"

"I'm worried about leaving you alone here. Or you could come with me."

Joanna had other plans and she knows that Julian didn't want to talk about it earlier but she decided to bring it up again.

"I was thinking I would go visit my mom instead and get away for a while to clear my head."

Julian stared back at Joanna. She managed to bring back the same conversation he didn't want to have earlier today. He tried not to be angry or dismissive with his response but he knew that seeing her mom was important to her.

"You're right. I guess it would work out for both of us and atleast I wouldn't have to worry about you being home alone. So if that's what you want to do then I'm okay with that."

She knew it was hard for him to say because he fears she won't come back but she was at ease to know that he was willing to put aside his feelings for hers.

They didn't say much to each other for the rest of the evening and they ordered a pizza for dinner instead of the hospital food. Julian drifted off to sleep in the chair next to Joanna and she nudged him a little so he could get up and lay on the couch instead.

"Lay down and get some sleep. I'm about to the same and turn off the tv."

Julian got up and stretched and as he was about to turn to go to the couch, Joanna took his hand. He turned back around to see her smiling at him.

"You know, if I move over a little, there may be some room in here instead of the couch."

They both started laughing and Joanna made room for him to lay beside her.

"I don't know if this is going to be more comfortable than the couch but let's see." Julian said as he doubted sleeping in the hospital bed.

He found that she was right. There was enough room for the both of them though not as much as in their bed at home. The warmth of their bodies against one another brought comfort to them both as Julian wrapped his arms around her. She reached over and turned off the tv and the room fell dark and silent but their love was illuminated by the moonlight that shined through the window. If things were different, they would be in the thick of their love making by now but they both knew that everything has changed except for their love which in this moment, felt stronger than ever.

Joanna slightly turned around and caressed Julian cheek as she whispered "I love you" to him.

He tightened his embrace around her, kissed her and said "I love you too."


End file.
